


Gaming Alone

by EzrasHargrave



Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, RWBY, ダンジョンに出会いを求めるのは間違っているだろうか | DanMachi | Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Anime)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Alternate Universe, F/M, Multiple Crossovers, POV First Person, Romance, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:08:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 49,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22190833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzrasHargrave/pseuds/EzrasHargrave
Summary: 14-Year-Old Percy Jackson just wanted a quiet school year. But when he finds himself kidnapped by monsters and himself being sacrificed to Gaia to aid in her rise, he comes to realise something. A quiet life was never for him. And if that was the case, he would tear his way through the world and live. All on his own. [Secret Quest: A Weakling’s Will Has Been Cleared!] Gamer! Percy AU!
Comments: 38
Kudos: 65





	1. I: A Weakling's Will

It’s strange isn’t? How fleeting and quickly life can disappear, just like breath. It seems to always be there, all around you, but when you breathe it’s only there for a short while before you need to let it out. It’s so strange how it’s said your life flashes before your eyes when you die, but my reality was something different.

It’s so strange how I’ve lived my life without knowing the world around me, the truth of what lies beyond the veil, and only now do I finally realise the truth.

Whatever the case, I plan to start living life by my own terms, not the terms someone else has decided for me.

Hello. My name is Percy Jackson.

You’re probably wondering what was up with that short and weird intro. And all I can say is, you’ll understand what I mean soon. As unbelievable as it sounds, this is the story of how my life changed. How I went from a troubled kid who went from school to school, to one of the most powerful forces on the planet.

If you want to stop reading, I suggest you do so now. Because once I start talking… Well, I’ve been told it’s hard to make me stop.

You’re gonna stay? Alright then, I’ll tell you my story.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a troubled kid. ADHD, Dyslexia, and a strange tendency of trouble following me everywhere I go.

When I was a baby, for example, a snake somehow snuck into my cot while I was asleep, but I was somehow able to strangle it to death before it could get to me. Another time was at my last school with my friend Tyson. These guys got really crazy during a Dodgeball game, and set fire to the school, and the blame somehow got pinned on me. I was found innocent and ended up with a nice cheque as an ‘apology’ from the school, but I still wasn’t allowed to come back this year.

Which I was fine with, don’t get me wrong! See, getting expelled is nothing new for me. I’ve been getting expelled from basically every school I’ve attended since I was a little kid for some extraordinary reason or another. But the school I found myself in at fourteen was actually really nice.

It was called Westover, a boarding school. I figured it was just gonna be another one of those strict schools, where most of the guys are jerks, and I get picked on for being ‘different.’ And I was mostly right, except I wasn’t picked on. It was the kind of school where everyone left the others alone unless they were looking to make friends, it was great!

I even found a couple of friends! Siblings in fact; Nico and Bianca di Angelo.

Nico was a cheerful kid, ten-years-old, who was obsessed with this game called ‘Mythomagic,’ a game that seemed to use cards and statues and looked to be based on Greek Mythology. He was hyper, barely able to sit still, and was great at cheering people up when they were down.

Then there was Bianca di Angelo, his older sister. She was twelve, a couple years younger than me, but she acted really mature for her age. That was mostly due to her needing to look after Nico, who no doubt would have gotten into some kind of trouble or danger if she wasn’t around to stop him from doing so. She was pretty strict with Nico, and much more grounded in reality than he was.

How I met them is kind of funny, actually. I ran into them, literally. My last class for the day had just ended, so I had some free time, and was walking through the halls, when I remember I had some homework I had to hand in before the end of the day to one of my earlier teachers. I immediately started running through the halls to finish my homework and hand it in, when I accidentally ran into Nico. I apologised, he apologised, Bianca told us both off and we went from there.

But I guess you’re tired of all this background stuff, huh? I suppose I should get into the nitty gritty of the story.

It all started towards the end of October, very close to Halloween.

Up until the ‘incident’ as I like to call it, the day went pretty standard. I woke up, brushed my teeth, and spoke with Bianca and Nico over breakfast, before we all went to our respective classes.

I sat through the torture that was Math Class, easily my most hated class, but managed to make some semi-decent notes I hopes would help me try and remember everything.

It was after Math Class I started to notice something strange. As I headed to English Class, I had a feeling I was being watched and it made me stop and look around for the source until I found it… And boy, was I shocked!

My eyes met hers and she looked away but there was no doubt it had been her looking at me. Alice Cymbeline, easily the prettiest and most popular girl in the school. She had waist-length blonde hair that looked like it had been kissed by the sun, and a pair of radiant blue eyes that were a clear, ocean blue.

Not much was known about Alice, she mostly kept to herself, but it made me curious as to why she’d been looking at me. Curious… And a bit nervous, if I was entirely honest. Why was she watching me? Had I done something to offend her? I hoped not, I made enemies of the popular kids too many times before.

She didn’t look back over to me, so I just shook my head and put it in the back of my mind for later and headed to English Class.

English class was tough, all the words swimming off the pages and swapping over, making it hard to read through the literature we were studying today. But I was determined to do well, and felt I’d taken some decent notes by the end of class… Though nobody besides me would probably be able to understand my scribble.

Lunch finally rolled around, and I grabbed my food and sat at a table. I was joined shortly after by Nico and Bianca.

“Hey,” I greeted them both with a smile. “How were your classes today? You had Science, right Nico?”

“We dissected frogs!” Nico said eagerly. “It was kinda gross, and one kid threw up, but I thought it was super fun!”

I grimaced lightly at my own memory of dissecting frogs. Yeah, I could see why someone would throw up. I’d come close when I did it. “Good to hear,” I offered Nico a smile. Better to not show him how uncomfortable that made me. “What about you Bianca? You came from History, right?”

“We were doing Ancient History,” Bianca nodded, scratching the back of her head. “We were focusing on Greece, learning about Achilles.”

“Achilles?” I blinked. “The guy with the weakness in his heel, right?”

“Yeah,” Bianca nodded. “Apparently, he fought an Amazon Queen at one point but after he took her helmet off he fell in love with her and felt bad for killing her.”

I blinked. That was interesting. Falling in love with someone after you’d killed them? Sounded very interesting, and it made me wonder just how beautiful this amazon queen must have been.

“What about you?” Bianca asked. “What happened in your class?”

“Nothing much,” I grimaced. “Struggled through Math and English, made some decent notes- for me making them anyway. Though something crazy happened between classes, and looking back I think I must be crazy,” I chuckled at the absurdity of what happened, realising it must have just been a coincidence.

“What’s that?” Nico asked, tilting his head.

I looked at him with a smile. “I could have sworn, as I was heading to Math Class, that Alice Cymbeline was looking at me,” I told him, getting an incredulous look from Bianca. “Yeah, I know it’s crazy. It’s just when I looked at her, our eyes met, and she looked away. I think it must have just been a coincidence though, no way she was watching me.”

“Obviously,” Bianca told him. “Not to sound like a jerk, Percy, but popular girls like her don’t look at unpopular kids like us. You must have imagined it.”

“I know, I know, was nice to pretend she was looking at me though,” I chuckled again. “She is pretty, but there’s no way she would be looking at me.”

“Um… Percy? Bianca?” Nico spoke up. “She’s looking at Percy right now.”

My back stiffened, and I saw Bianca’s do the same, and I followed Nico’s gaze to see her again, Alice Cymbeline, and she was staring right at us. No, not at us. At _me_.

Once again, our eyes met. And once again, she looked away quickly.

“That’s weird,” Bianca frowned. “She’s never looked at you before, why is she looking now? If she wants to talk to you or know something about you, she should just walk up and ask.”

“You should go say something to her,” Nico suggested, bouncing up and down. “Maybe we’ll become popular kids if you can get an in with her!”

“Not happening,” I shot him down. “Being popular is not as great as it looks, I’m pretty sure of that. Never been popular but I have been infamous throughout a school before. I’m pretty sure we don’t wanna be popular. How about we just ignore her and go back to our talk?”

“Alright,” Nico pouted, then looked at Bianca. “Tell us about this Amazon Queen! Maybe I have her in my Mythomagic set.”

Bianca rolled her eyes at Nico’s antics, but the smile she had was plainly visible and wasn’t leaving any time soon. “Her name was Penthesilea, and apparently she has unrivalled beauty…”

Nico and I listened diligently to Bianca’s speech, and the story of the Amazon Queen: Penthesilea. She was a daughter of Ares and Otrera, the first Queen of the Amazon’s, and fought in the Trojan War on the side of Troy. She was later killed by Achilles in combat after distinguishing herself on the battlefield for a day, but he fell in love with her after he took off her helmet.

It made me think, did Achilles and Penthesilea really need to be enemies? If Achilles had seen her face sooner, could the pair have talked things out? Or was she destined to die at the hands of someone who had fallen in love with her from the start?

Something about that story stuck with me, hard. It lingered in the back of my mind as I attended the rest of my classes after lunch.

History, Gym, Music, and Science classes filled the rest of my day. Learning was tough, as it often is with dyslexia, but even so I did my absolute best to work. I wanted to make my mom proud of me.

Huh? What do you mean I didn’t mention my mom before? Oh well, I’ll talk about her now so be patient.

My mom’s name is Sally Jackson, and she’s the best parent on the planet if you ask me. She’d had a life that was rough like mine. Her parents died in a plane crash when she was young, and she was taken in by her uncle. Midway through college he made her quit, so she could take care of him when he was nearing death’s door. Life was rough for her after that, but she said a highlight was meeting my dad.

I’ve never met my father, but my mother says I look like him. Dark hair and sea-green eyes, apparently my face is even similar to his. She told me she only spent one summer with him, at the cabin in Montauk, and ended up pregnant with me.

Sadly, my mom didn’t have enough money to look after both of us and ended up marrying a really bad guy. Someone who I’m happy to say has all my hatred.

 _Smelly Gabe_.

Human scum of the Earth, he was nice for the first 12 seconds I knew him before I saw he was an absolute human bastard. He was fat, lazy, and rude. But he had money, so my mom put up with it to give herself and me a better life.

Just over a year ago, my mom and I went to Montauk after I got expelled from my seventh-grade school and we had a great time. It was a few days after I got back I was woken up my screaming, and found Smelly Gabe _beating_ my mom and yelling at her, no doubt drunk. I wanted to yell out and attack him, but that would have made things worse.

So instead I snuck to the phone and called the cops. They didn’t take long to arrive, and Gabe was arrested and later charged with Domestic Violence. Normally that wouldn’t have been a problem for him, besides being revealed as a wife beating bastard, but a lawyer popped up from nowhere on mine and my mom’s side.

Not only was Gabe charged with Domestic Violence, but a host of other crimes that I didn’t even know existed. They were so severe, that the court sentenced him to life in prison, and then processed my mom’s divorce from him in no time at all, giving her all of his money and possessions as Gabe wouldn’t be needing them back in jail.

From there, life got a bit better. My mom was able to put herself back into college to try and get her degree, and overall, she was way more cheerful than before.

Because my mom was so great, I didn’t was to disappoint her by getting kicked out of this school too. So, I was determined to work really hard, keep my nose clean, and stay out of trouble as much as I could.

My cheeks were red as I walked out of Science Class, we’d started Sex Ed, and I shook my head to clear them of those thoughts. My mom had given me the talk already, but sexual education was bringing up the birds and the bees discussion to my mind and made me want to die of embarrassment.

“Hey, Jackson!” A voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I turned around to see Mike Smith. He was a nice guy, from what I’d seem. Pretty average in about everything.

“Smith,” I greeted back politely. “Can I help you?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded at me. “I had a question about Gym, since that’s your best class, and was hoping you could answer it. Um, in private,” he added on, and I got the idea it must have been a bit personal.

“Oh, sure,” I nodded. “You wanna lead us to a private location?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, turning around and walking away. I moved to follow him. He seemed a bit jittery, nervous, but I chalked it up to the nature of the question.

Soon enough, he led us to an area of the school I don’t think I’d ever been to. It was dark, almost seemed abandoned in a way, and he opened a door. “Right in here, this will give us privacy,” he said. “Nobody ever comes here, it’s a great place for some peace and quiet.”

I nodded at that, and stepped into the room, hearing the door close behind me, and I turned to face him. “So, what did you want to talk about-?” I froze at the look on Mike’s face as I turned to him.

It wasn’t the kind smile I’d seen as I passed him in the halls so many times. It wasn’t a look of frustration, or anger, or anything like that.

It was a sadistic grin, his eyes staring right at me and promising untold pain.

“You are far too trusting, Jackson,” Mike told me.

“W- What are you-?” I began to ask, only to feel a sharp pain hit the back of my head, and I collapsed to the ground.

My body grew weak, and I felt somewhat wet trickling down the back of my head. My vision began to fade and, as I weakly looked up, I saw Mike talking to someone I couldn’t see.

I tried to make out what they were saying but the pain overwhelmed me and, soon after, the world faded to black.

**~~Gaming Alone~~**

_Pain!_

A scream left my lips as I was awoken, agony coursing through my body, originating from my left arm. My vision was blurry, the light from the full moon blinding me as it shone through a hole in the ceiling and hit me hard.

Blinking a few times, while trying to reach for my left arm, I felt a pair of strong hands yank my right arm down and something _stab_ into it and through whatever I was laying on.

I let out another scream of pain as I felt my blood starting to gush out of the wounds in my pinned down arms, my throat growing hoarse as I writhed in complete agony.

“He’s awake,” I heard a gruff voice say, it was unfamiliar to me.

“No matter! Continue the ritual,” another voice hissed. “He shall raise the Earth Mother, and she shall strike down those Olympians!”

Another sound became apparent as the hissing voice registered. Chanting. All around me, people were chanting as I screamed and writhed in pain. I felt my left leg get pinned down, and another sharp stab of pain as something pierced my leg.

I looked down, forcefully blinking the blurriness away to see what was stabbed through it. It was… A sword? A bronze sword to be exact, and it was completely agonising! I couldn’t even say a proper word!

I didn’t even have time to comprehend there was a _sword_ through my leg, likely my arms too, before my other leg was stabbed into what I was on. I struggled and screamed from doing so as my limbs were pinned down and tried to focus on what I was laying on.

It was concrete, solid. Flat, like a table, and it felt strange to lay on… The only hole in the ceiling was above me, shining down, my blood glistening lightly in the light… My eyes widened as I realised something through the agonizing pain.

 _An Alter_.

I was laying on an alter! I was being sacrificed by some… Some kind of cult, to resurrect their ‘Earth Mother!’

And the worst part was I could do nothing. All I could do was scream as my blood poured out of me and the chanting grew louder, and louder. I suddenly felt like the Earth was trembling beneath me.

 _“Good…”_ I heard a female voice, but this one was different. Woozy, almost, as if she were just waking up from a long nap. _“Good… This blood, this delicious blood, shall help me wake. And with just one more, I shall rise…!”_

I could only keep screaming, unable to really comprehend the voice was pain flooded my senses, and a roaring was all I could hear in my ears.

And then, my senses began to dull and fade. The sounds around me started to fade away until I could hear nothing, not even my own screaming. My arms and legs going completely limp, unable to move even a single part of my body.

I stared up at the moon was tears streaked down my cheeks from the pain. I could feel it; my death was coming… And why?

_Why?_

For some crazy cult?

To raise some crazy ‘Earth Mother’ who demanded a sacrifice?

Why the hell was I being killed, for something like this?

My eyes slowly closed, and the world around me slowly faded away into nothing.

.

.

.

_No!_

My eyes snapped open as new life breathed into me, a second wind.

I wasn’t going to die! I had so much to live for! My mother! Nico, and Bianca! I was going to overcome my Dyslexia and ADHD, and I was going to make my mother proud of me god damn it!

Slowly, despite the pain, my feet stomped on the alter and I began to push myself up. My palms pressed down and I slowly rose, limbs agonising and blood pouring from them as I rose despite the blades stuck in them, hearing them coming out of the concrete as I finally stood up.

My vision was blurry, and I couldn’t really see anything, but I slowly turned to where I remembered the chanting coming from, and I saw looks of shock and horror on the eyes of everyone present.

One of them opened their mouths to speak, but all I could hear was blood roaring in my ears as I stared at them.

Then I felt a tug behind my naval.

It was strong, fierce, and different than anything I’d experienced before. I saw them back up from me with looks of horror, though I couldn’t see what it was they saw. All I saw were the looks of my would-be murderers, and how scared they look.

_It wasn’t enough. They tried to kill me. I had to pay them back. Even at the cost of my life._

_An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth._

_… And death for death._

I threw my head back and let out a blood curling scream, my vision swimming in red, the world around me enveloped in a crimson vortex- blood?- and I saw the various people being torn apart within it. No, not people… They looked different, inhuman.

The tug behind my navel was strong, the vortex churning around me and ripping up all of the members of the crazed cult.

 _‘No!’_ I heard the sleepy woman’s voice in my mind. _‘What are you doing!? How are you doing this!? G- Getting… So… S- Sleepy…’_ She slowly began snoring, and then her voice faded away entirely.

After what felt like an eternity, pain surged into my limbs and I screamed again, the crimson vortex stopping as I fell back on the alter, laying face down with swords sticking out of my four limbs. The floor was stained crimson red, though I couldn’t tell what it was any more. Tomato sauce? Blood?

I began to realise it didn’t matter, as my vision began to fade again. This time, for sure, I knew I was dying. There was no question about it.

I had my revenge… But it was so unfair. I was still dying. I should have been allowed to live, to keep fighting and living my life the way I pleased. The world… It was so cruel.

 _‘If I had another chance…_ ’ I thought. _‘I would do things right. I would tear my way through this world, and I would live. I would be smart, and strong… All on my own.’_

That was when I saw it. A blue text box appearing in front of my eyes, along with a ‘Ding!’ sound.

**[Alarm!]**

**[You have completed all the necessary requirements of the Secret Quest: ‘A Weakling’s Will!’]**

_‘What?’_ I thought, as my sight was dulling, staring at the text box. _‘What… Is this?’_

The box didn’t fade, simply existing in front of my eyes despite the impossibility of it… Was I hallucinating from blood loss? Secret Quest? Completed all requirements? What?

**[Alarm!]**

**[You have earned the right to become a player. Will you accept?]**

_‘Earned? Accept?? What in the world am I looking at, what the hell is happening?’_

**[You do not have much time remaining. If you refuse, your heart will stop approximately 0.02 seconds later. Will you accept?]**

_‘If I accept… I don’t have to die?’_ That stuck out to me. I wouldn’t die. I could still make my mom proud, still talk to Bianca and Nico every day, and keep that promise I made. To tear my way through the world… And live. To be smart and strong, all on my own.

_‘This chance… I’ll take it!’_

**[Alarm!]**

**[Welcome, Player.]**

I felt something surge through my body, a bright light clouding my vision… And then everything faded away as I finally let myself go.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Differences in this universe: Percy was never revealed as the Son of Poseidon. Instead, Ares broke out of Kronos’ mind control and returned the Bolt and Helm to Zeus and Hades respectively, while pinning the blame on Luke. Percy is never outed as a Demigod due to the Summer Solstice’s quick approach forcing Chiron and Grover to leave to try and sort it out, and Gabe’s pungent scent hiding Percy’s demigod nature.**

**After being expelled from Yancy Academy, Percy enjoyed time with his mother at Montauk and then came back. Later, Gabe got incredibly drunk and beat Sally in front of Percy. Percy immediately called the cops. Gabe was arrested and later charged with Domestic violence and other crimes, his money and possessions all given to Sally.**

**Percy met Tyson in his next school and helped him but ended up expelled. Tyson thanked Percy for his help, and wished him well, before he went to Poseidon’s forges under the sea after Percy was expelled.**

**The fleece was retrieved without Percy’s help, instead Annabeth teamed up with Selina Beauregard and Charles Beckendorf to help Clarisse, and Annabeth exposed Luke as the one who poisoned Thalia’s tree.**

**The story begins between Sea of Monsters and Titan’s curse.**

**Percy attends Westover Boarding School with both Nico and Bianca, and the three of them are all great friends.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Solo Levelling (Where I got game system). PJO is property of Rick Riordan, and Solo Levelling is made by Jang Sung-lak (Author) and Gee So-lyung (Artist). Please support the official release** **.**


	2. II: Awakening

My eyes snapped open as I sat up, as if awakening from a nightmare, and I clutched my chest as my heart beat erratically. My visions was blurry, and I was quick to wipe my eyes and blink it away. I was seating, my breathing heavy, and I felt so exhausted.

I wasn’t in that broken building, on that alter. And it wasn’t night any longer. Instead, the light of the sunset filled the hospital room was in and I looked around tiredly, slowly getting my breathing stable.

_‘Was it all… Just a dream?’_

I heard the hospital door slide open, and the gasp of a familiar voice. “Percy?”

I turned to look at the entrant, my eyes widening marginally as I saw her. “… Mom?”

“Percy!” She yelled, dropping what her purse and running towards me, wrapping her tightly in her arms. “Oh, thank goodness you’re okay! You were covered in blood when they brought you in, I was so worried!”

I felt my eyes widen as I registered that, subconsciously registering that I began to hug her back.

_It wasn’t a dream._

The alter, the blood, the sleepy woman, the inhuman creatures. It wasn’t a dream at all.

_I died._

That thought made my mouth dry. There was no doubt in my mind, I’d definitely died for a moment back then. They’d killed me and somehow, through sheer strength of will, I’d come back and done… Something. That crimson vortex, that blood vortex… It was made by me.

But how?

And why?

“Mom…” I breathed out. “How long was I unconscious?”

She looked down at me as she finally pulled back. “Percy, it’s been three days,” she said. “What happened?”

“We would like to know as well,” a voice came as the door opened and a pair of men in black suits came in, one handing my mother her purse that she dropped.

“Who are…?” I questioned.

“Detective Roger Davis,” the man with ginger hair said, holding out his I.D. “Private Investigator for cult cases, like the one we found you in. Would you mind telling us what happened?”

“Sir, please,” my mother began. “He’s only just woken up. He still needs rest-!”

“No,” I stopped her. “I appreciate it mom but I… I want to get this off my chest.”

She looked at me sadly, before nodding and taking a seat, holding my hand tightly.

“You don’t have to if you aren’t ready, son,” Roger Davis said to me.

“No, it’s better to get it out of the way…” I took a deep breath and began to tell an abridged version of what happened.

How I’d been at school and was wandering around, until I came to a seemingly abandoned area and had a look around, until I found myself knocked out. How I’d found myself waking up on some kind of alter, blood being poured onto my body and spread all around. How the people had declared I would arise as their new ‘God’ and had injected me with drugs to do so.

I didn’t know why I lied, but as I’d began to tell the story I’d noticed something. There was no pain in my legs or arms and, after glancing at them out the corner of my eyes, I saw there were no visible scars either.

“I don’t remember much after that,” I said. “I just remember another injection in my arm, and then everything faded to black.”

“We only know you were missing for 2 days after you were kidnapped,” Detective Roger Davis snapped him out of his thoughts. “The drugs must have been strong but in very small doses. They may have flushed them out of your system to cover their tracks, in case we found out what kind of rugs they used on you. Did you see any of their faces?”

I raked my brain… I knew they wouldn’t be satisfied if I said no, adults never were… So, I decided to make something up. “Just one, I think he was the leader,” I said. “It was blurry, but I remember sandy blonde hair, and a scar that ran from the bottom of his eye down to his chin.”

The detective nodded and wrote it down, before patting me on the shoulder. “We’re glad to see you’re okay, son,” he said. “The school is paying your medical bills as an apology for you getting kidnapped on school grounds. You take it easy now, the nightmare is over,” he said gently, before he and the other man in the black suit left the room.

Beside me, my mother looked terrified. “Oh, my sweet baby boy,” she whispered, hugging me tightly again. “You went through such a terrifying experience! I’m so sorry that happened to you!”

“I’m okay, Mom,” I told her. “I was… Scared, yeah. But I was more terrified that I’d never see you again,” I admitted. “I’m just glad I can see you right now… And I can tell you that I love you, and that you’re the best mom I ever could have asked for.”

I saw tears fill her eyes as she hugged me tighter, telling me that she loved me over and over again as I hugged her back.

I don’t know how long passed, but a nurse opened the door. “I’m sorry to break up the moment,” she said. “But visiting hours are over. I’m going to need to ask you to leave, Miss Jackson.”

My mom stood up and wiped her tears. “I’ll come by to visit you tomorrow, Percy,” she promised, kissing my forehead. “I have to leave and go back to my night-class tomorrow after I visit, but I’ll always be with you in your heart. You just get some much-needed rest, okay?”

“I will,” I promised her, giving her a weak smile. She smiled back and was led out by the nurse.

“Can I get you anything?” She asked. “Water? Something to eat?”

“A little food would be nice,” I said, holding my stomach as it growled. Three days without food meant I was very hungry. “Please?”

The nurse smiled at me. “I’ll be right back with that,” she turned and left, closing the door behind her.

I sighed as I look forwards towards the wall… No, I wasn’t looking at the wall. I was looking at a blue text box that was sitting in front of me, that nobody else seemed to notice but me.

**[Alert!]**

**[You have unread mail.]**

I reached out to touch the screen, but my hand passed right through it. I frowned, quickly figuring out the screen was not a touch-screen.

“Um… Open Mailbox?” I asked.

The screen suddenly changed before my eyes.

**[Messages]**

**[Welcome, Player. (Unread)]**

**[Daily Quest: ‘To Grow Strong’ has arrived. (Unread)]**

“So, it’s voice activated…” I murmured to myself as I stared at the screen. “What is this thing…?” I stared at it a little more, before I sighed. “I guess it won’t kill me to check… Open first message.”

**[Messages]**

**[The System will help the ‘Player’s growth. If he fails to obey the systems orders, there may be a penalty. Your Rewards have arrived.]**

“What is this…?” I murmured. “It’s like some kind of video game…” I frowned. Now that I thought about it, I recalled seeing another blue box. Back when I was at death’s door, on that alter.

I shook my head of those thoughts and turned my eyes to the second message about the Daily Quest. “Open Message.”

**[Daily Quest: ‘To Grow Strong!’]**

**[Clear Conditions]**

**[(Incomplete) Push-Ups] [0/100]**

**[(Incomplete) Curl-Ups] [0/100]**

**[(Incomplete) Squats] [0/100]**

**[(Incomplete) Running] [0/10KM]**

**[WARNING! – Failing to Complete this Daily Quest will bring a punishment associated with this quest.]**

“Hahaha… Is this thing for real?” I asked, rolling my eyes. “It’s telling someone in a hospital bed to do this! I don’t have the strength for this…” I yawned. “I’ll check what it is after I’ve gotten some food and a nap…”

I didn’t have to wait long for the nurse to bring me my food. It wasn’t great, as expected of hospital food, but it was better than nothing. I thanked her, before I lay down and closed my eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep and forgetting all about the Daily Quest.

.

.

.

**_Rumble!_ **

My eyes snapped wide open as I felt the ground shaking beneath me. “A- An Earthquake!?” I yelled in shock, gripping the sheets beneath me…

 _And then my world changed_.

No longer was I in a hospital, instead I was in a vast desert, the sun setting in the distance, numerous, countless sand dunes all around me.

“W- What the hell!?” I exclaimed in shock. “I’m in a desert!? How!? W- Why!?”

I heard a rush of sand behind me, like something huge rising out of the ground. I slowly looked behind me… And felt the blood fade from my face.

It was a centipede. But it was huge, as tall as a four-story building, and looked incredibly dangerous… And hungry!

**[Poison-Fanged Giant Sand Centipede]**

That name hung over the monster in dark red colouring, somehow making its aura all the more intimidating!

It was at that point I noticed the blue text box in front of my eyes.

**[Penalty Quest: Survive]**

**[Clear Conditions]**

**[Survive until the time runs out.]**

**[Time Required: 4 Hours]**

**[Time Remaining: 3 H 59 MIN 55 SEC]**

The Centipede bore those poison fangs at the sight of me.

“This is a joke… Right?”

It wasn’t a joke.

**~~Gaming Alone~~**

_Huff! Puff! Huff! Puff!_

Those were the only sounds to come out of my mouth as I ran through the vast desert, running away as Giant Sand Centipedes tried to kill me!

Yes, plural. As in there was more than one of those terrifying creatures chasing me!

I ran as fast as I could through the vast desert, seeing the timer tick down in front of my eyes, seconds passing as I continued to run from the centipedes as they continued to bit at me with those poisoned fangs.

I didn’t even know how long I’d been running, all I knew was that I had to keep running. Running. To survive, to live, to make sure I didn’t die against these Centipedes! I wanted to make my mark on the world, and I wouldn’t let it get away before I could begin!

But then I messed up.

I tripped, falling to the ground. I froze and got up, only to see it looming over me. I saw the green venom dripping from its fangs onto the desert sands.

It lunged.

I screamed as I covered my face.

**[Alert!]**

**[You have completed the ‘Penalty’ Quest!]**

The world around me faded away, and I found myself sitting up in my hospital bed, breathing heavy, and sand clinging to my toes.

I didn’t even realise I was no longer in danger for a few minutes, until I finally registered that I wasn’t feeling any piercing pain.

I slowly lowered my arms, staring at the screen in front of me breathlessly. “Penalty Quest…?” I questioned. “You mean… Because I didn’t do that daily quest… I was punished?”

**[Messages]**

**[Your rewards for completing the Penalty Quest have arrived.]**

**[Would you like to accept?]**

**[Accept] / [Refuse]**

“A… Accept…” I breathed out heavily, and the screen in front of me changed again.

**[Quest Rewards]**

**[Choose Your Reward]**

**[You have obtained the three rewards below. You may only obtain one reward at a time.]**

**[Reward #1. Status Recovery]**

**[Reward #2. Stat Points + 6]**

**[Reward #3. Random Weapon Box]**

**[Will you accept?]**

**[Accept] / [Refuse]**

Status Recovery sounded good. Very good. I wanted that, whatever it was right now! “Accept Status Recovery.”

I suddenly felt a warmth spreading through my limbs, my fatigue slipping away, my heart rate and breath returning to normal. My muscles didn’t even ache any longer! For all intents and purposes, I felt like I’d never been in that desert at all.

“This is so weird…” I whispered. “It’s really like I’m in some kind of real life video game…”

Or at least, that’s the only thing I could equate it to. This thing, I would call it the ‘System,’ did call me ‘Player.’ Did that mean I wasn’t human? What exactly made a Player different than a normal person, besides the benefits of the system?

“A- Accept Reward 2,” I said. To my left, a new menu appeared.

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 1]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 0]**

**[Title: None]**

**[HP: 100] [MP: 10]**

**[Strength: 10 +/-] [Vitality: 10 +/-]**

**[Agility: 10 +/-] [Intelligence: 10 +/-]**

**[Sense: 10 +/-]**

**[Remaining Points: 6]**

“So, I have six stat points…” I murmured. “But what should I put them in?” I questioned, frowning, before I decided to think things through.

Strength was self-explanatory, no need to be curious what that did. Vitality generally meant healthiness, so it may increase my health, or it may increase how well I can endure attacks. Agility would make me faster and, based on the lack of a dexterity stat, would make my aim more accurate. Intelligence would make my magic attacks stronger, but I didn’t know any magic.

Sense was a new one to me. Would it make my five senses stronger? Or did it mean something else, like a sixth sense that made me more aware of my surroundings.

“Come on Percy, think,” I murmured. “Video games usually have a help option. Err… Help.”

**[Help]**

**[What is your query?]**

I blinked in surprise at that. That actually worked! Thank god for that! “Um, what does the Sense stat do?” I asked, as I was fairly confident on what the rest did.

**[Help]**

**[Query: What does the Sense stat do?]**

**[Answer: The Sense stat creates a ‘bubble’ around you at all times. If anything enters this ‘bubble’ you will be able to sense where it penetrated the ‘bubble’ from. The higher the stat, the larger the ‘bubble.’ It also allows you to better grasp the ability of the enemy you are facing.]**

“So, it’s like a sixth sense to tell what’s going on around me within a certain area,” I nodded. “Thank you… Um, dismiss Help Menu.” The menu disappeared after that.

I turned my attention back to my status menu. My thought drifted back to when I was on that alter, and my fist clenched. I was so weak… If I was stronger, maybe I could have stopped them. So, with that in mind… “Put all stat points into Strength.”

I watched as the number rose from ten to sixteen, nodding to myself. I wouldn’t regret it, I was sure of that. I dismissed the status menu and turned back to the rewards menu. “Accept Reward 3.”

There was a glow, and suddenly I was holding a small box, like a present, a dull brown in colour with a red ribbon. “Open box.”

The lid of the box opened and there was a brief flash, but I found myself holding a simple bronze sword, similar to the one I remembered my old Latin teacher from Yancy- Mr Brunner- bringing out sometimes.

**[Item: Bronze Xiphos]**

**[Item Class: E]**

**[Type: Sword]**

**[Attack: +10]**

**[A Sword of Celestial Bronze made back in Greek Times. The blade cannot harm normal mortals but is deadly against monsters.]**

**[Effect: Deals 50% more damage when fighting Greek Monsters]**

**[Effect: Deals 20% more damage when fighting non-Greek Monsters]**

**[Demerit: Cannot be used on Humans]**

I gulped and wanted to test the blade’s edge, but I didn’t know how much it would do to me. I didn’t want to bring myself so close to death’s door right after I’d barely escaped from it again.

Suddenly it occurred I was holding a fucking sword in a god damn hospital! I panicked, until I recalled that games generally had an inventory. Did that mean…? “Inventory!”

**[Inventory]**

**[Weapons] [Armour] [Potions] [Items] [Key Items]**

Success! And it even had multiple options for storage, to help me arrange my items better! I quickly opened up the weapon menu. I hesitated, before I pushed my hand holding the sword into the blue screen. There was a ripple around my hand, as if it was going into water, and I let go of the sword. I pulled my hand back and the sword was gone, but it was now sitting in my inventory!

I sighed in relief, glad that was done, and dismissed all the menus. I took a breath and lay back down to sleep, before another menu appeared in front of me.

**[Messages]**

**[Your rewards have arrived. (Unread)]**

“Rewards? For what?” I said, sitting up as I tilted my head… Then I remembered. Back when I’d read the ‘Welcome, Player’ message, it said in that message my rewards arrived. Did it mean I’d gotten some kind of rewards for completing the secret quest and becoming a player? “Open message.”

**[Quest Reward]**

**[For completing the Secret Quest: ‘A Weakling’s Will,’ you have obtained a new skill.]**

**[You have obtained ‘Grand Caster Solomon’s Blessing.’]**

“I’m sorry, what?” I blinked. Did I really have a skill menu? Well, I guess I’d better check. “Skills.”

**[Skills]**

**[Passive]**

**[‘Unknown’ MAX]**

**[‘Grand Caster Solomon’s Blessing’ MAX]**

**[‘Perfect Body’ Lv. 1]**

**[Active]**

**[‘Sprint’ Lv. 1]**

**[‘Unknown’ Lv. 1]**

**[‘Unknown’ Lv. 1]**

“What is this?” I groaned. “Half of my skills are unknown… Open unknown passive,” I said.

**[Error]**

**[You must discover what this passive is before it is unlocked.]**

“Oh great,” I sighed. So, I had six skills, half of which I couldn’t even use. “Open Grand Caster Solomon’s Blessing.”

**[Skills]**

**[‘Grand Caster Solomon’s Blessing’ MAX]**

**[A blessing given unto you by the Grand Caster Solomon, in the form of a special spell. Solomon’s blessing will make sure that you will always be strong and healthy during your lifetime.]**

**[Permanent Effect ‘Longevity’: All diseases, poisons, and status effects are healed, and sleeping will explosively increase regeneration ability.]**

**[Temporary Effect ‘Will to Rehabilitate’: Any dismembered body parts are restored. Can only be used once.]**

“… Holy shit,” I whispered, my eyes wide as I stared at the screen. No, seriously, holy shit! This skill was broken beyond anything I’d seen in games! Diseases, poisons, and all status effects are healed!? What, instantly!? That was completely broken!

That temporary effect was also just as broken! Even if it was just a one-off, I could heal a dismembered body part instantly! I never knew when that would come in handy!

I took a deep breath, before I moved onto the next skill. Perfect Body.

**[Skills]**

**[‘Perfect Body’ Lv. 1]**

**[It is said Adonis had the perfect body, but what good is looking good if you can’t use your muscles? With Perfect Body, you’ll never have to worry about that.]**

**[Permanent Effect ‘True Growth’: Your body changes with your stat increases accordingly, improving your appearance depending on which stat you increase.]**

“So, I’ll get better looking?” I questioned, feeling a bit vain now. Maybe I should have put a stat or two into vitality. But oh well, I was sure I’d get more stats in the future. No real harm done, if you asked me. “Last one, Open Sprint.”

**[Skills]**

**[‘Sprint’ Lv. 1]**

**[Effect: Increases your movement speed by 30%. 1 Mana is consumed for every minute this skill is active]**

I nodded at that, it sounded pretty useful. Increasing my movement speed by thirty percent might not be broken right now, but it would only get better in the future. As it stood, when I used this skill it would be like I had thirteen agility instead of ten. What about in the future, when I was in the hundreds?

Short term the skill wasn’t impressive. But in the long term, it would become an incredibly powerful skill. Even more so if I could figure out how to level it up. I closed the menu, when another appeared in front of me.

**[Messages]**

**[Daily Quest: ‘To Grow Strong’ has arrived (Unread)]**

“The daily quest again…” I quickly opened it up and scanned over it, this time paying close attention. It was exactly the same as last time, but this time I took note of the timer and the punishment. I had nineteen hours to clear it, so until midnight today. If I failed, I would be sent back to that punishment area from before.

I shuddered violently at the thought of those centipedes… I would call the game cruel, except it knew I could do these things. My body was healed thanks to Status Recovery, and I was in tip-top shape. I was in no position to complain.

But I was still so tired… I decided I’d do the quest in the morning, once I got some much-needed sleep.

**~~Gaming Alone~~**

Convincing the doctors to let me run was not an easy task. They made me do several exercises to prove that my body was in optimal shape and, even then, they were incredibly hesitant.

In the time they took deciding, I did the exercises that the system had asked of me. One-hundred push-ups, curl-ups, and squats. With each one I completed, a small tick appeared beside it in the Daily Quest.

After I ate lunch, the doctor finally agreed to let me go for my run, as long as I stayed on the hospital grounds! They even gave me a tracksuit and some decent sneakers, so I could do the run!

I ran for a long time, about an hour and a half, before I finally came to a stop, panting heavily. My fatigue was sitting at a hundred, completely maxed out, but I’d completed the ten-kilometre run.

**[Alert!]**

**[You have completed the Daily Quest: ‘To Grow Strong.’]**

**[Quest Rewards]**

**[Choose your reward.]**

**[You have obtained the three rewards below. You may only obtain one reward at a time.]**

**[Reward #1. Status Recovery]**

**[Reward #2. Stat Points +3]**

**[Reward #3. Random Box]**

“Accept Status Recovery,” I wheezed out as I sat on a park bench. A light covered my body, and my fatigue faded away as I returned to one-hundred percent again. It was like I was never running in the first place! “Accept Reward 2.”

My status menu opened up, showing that I had another three stat points available to me. I dumped them all into strength, wanting raw power over anything else right now. “Accept Reward 3.”

A red box appeared in my hands, with a yellow ribbon curled into a bow on top. I wondered what this would give me, I hoped it was something good. “Open Box.”

The lid opened, and a light shone out… Before I found myself holding a lime green key.

**[Item: Dungeon Key]**

**[Item Class: E]**

**[Type: Key]**

**[A Key that allows you to create an Instant Dungeon. You may use this at Westover Hall.]**

My eyes widened in shock. A key to create a dungeon, a place to level up… At my school!? How, why!?

It wasn’t too far from the hospital, but they weren’t expecting me back for a long while. I needed an excuse… I guess I could say I was there to visit Nico and Bianca, and to pick up my homework? It was a weak excuse, but I thought it could work.

I stored the key in my inventory and made my way to my room, settling into the bed and sighing contently.

It wasn’t much, but I was getting stronger bit by bit. I didn’t quite know how levelling worked yet, but I would find out once I entered the dungeon and started to level up.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by the door opening and my mom walking in. I gave her a smile as she came over and sat down. “Hey mom.”

“Percy,” she smiled. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Much,” I nodded. “I feel perfectly fine as is, but the doctors want me to stay a bit longer just in case. I managed to talk them into letting me go for a run around the hospital, but they made me do various exercises to make sure I could handle it.”

My mother frowned at me. “You shouldn’t be going running, even if you feel okay Percy. But I trust you to know your own limits,” she told him, holding my hand tightly. “Are you sure that you’re okay? I know that… Incident may have left its scars on you, but-!”

“I’m fine,” I told her. “It was… Scary, yeah. I honestly thought I was going to die at one point…” Not thought, I did die. I was sure of that. “But I’m here, and I’m okay. The best thing I can do is to stand up and keep moving on with life.”

She stared at me for a long time, before she smiled. “You’ve grown, Percy,” she said. “I don’t know what I’ve missed, but you’ve grown and are becoming such a fine young man…” She kissed my forehead. “I have to go now, it's a long drive back home, but remember what I said. I will always be with you, no matter where you go. And I will always support you, no matter what you decide to do.”

“I know,” I whispered softly, giving her a hug. “I love you mom.”

“I love you too, Percy,” she said softly as she hugged back, before she said goodbye one more time and left the room.

I stared at the wall for a long time, and my thoughts drifted back to the key I’d obtained earlier.

_“I will always support you, no matter what you decide to do.”_

I clenched my fist, before I stood up again.

It took a bit more convincing for me to get the doctors to let me go back to school, but they bought my excuses and only said that I should be back before it became dark. It seemed convincing them to let me run had them realise I was able to go and pick up homework and see my friends.

The walk to the school wasn’t very far, as incidents had happened at the school back when it had been a far more militaristic style academy, where they trained soldiers. It was now just a normal boarding school, but I was glad the hospital was so close. It only took me about ten to twenty minutes to walk there.

I stood at the gates of the school, holding the key in my hand. This was it, my first step into what would no doubt be a monster infested place. I gulped, and my body shook. From fear or anticipation was something I couldn’t tell.

“Calm down, Percy,” I said to myself. “Worst case scenario, things are too tough, and I leave the Dungeon. This won’t be like back at the alter…”

After solidifying my determination, I pushed the key into the air and twisted.

**_Fwoosh! Crackle!_ **

The air in front of my twisted and spiralled, becoming a crackling portal of blue energy right where the gates to the school were. I took a deep breath… Before I stepped through the gates, determined to grow stronger.

**[Alert!]**

**[You have entered the Instant Dungeon.]**

I suddenly heard movement behind me and turned around. The gates were gone, replaced with a huge rock wall that went straight up, blocking my exit.

“Wait, what!?” I exclaimed, banging on the wall. “You can’t be serious, I’m stuck in here!? What the hell, why is this a thing!?”

**[Alert!]**

**[You cannot leave the dungeon. Either kill the Boss or use the ‘Travel Stone.’]**

“You mean I can’t leave unless I get this travel stone or kill the boss of this area…” I whispered, eyes wide in shock. “What the hell man!? I just came back from death’s door, why is the System trying to shove me back there constantly!?”

I felt a rush of wind and a chill run down my spine as I turned back around, looking back to Westover Hall. It looked daunting, horrifying even, pitch-black like the palace of an evil king. The sky wasn’t sunny any more, instead it was like it was night, with a blood red moon hanging above me.

“I seriously have to clear this… By myself…!?” I yelled. I received no answer.

I clenched my fist and took a deep breath. I should have known this was a possibility. Right from the start, I think deep down I knew this would happen. That I would have to dance at death’s border once again.

But things would be different this time, that I promised myself. If this dungeon wouldn’t let me leave until I killed the boss, then I would bring that boss to its knees! I would defeat it and escape this place with my life in tact! This I swore!

I opened up my inventory and took out my Bronze Xiphos, giving it a few practice swings. It felt a bit off balance to me, but it would do for now.

I stared at the building in front of me one last time, a Black Palace, before I took a deep breath… And made my way inside.


	3. III: The First Step

The doors of Westover Hall opened very easily as I made my way inside, clutching my Xiphos tightly as I glanced around. Inside it looked like Westover Hall, but the huge entrance hall appeared to be rundown and ruined, as if it had been abandoned for hundreds of thousands of years. I even saw cobwebs everywhere.

“What kind of thing would live in a wreck like this…” I murmured, thinking about how inconvenient it would be to live here. If you didn’t know your way around, Westover Hall could be like a labyrinth after all.

I felt a chill to the side and quickly jumped backwards, barely making it out of the way as I saw a battle-axe shaped like a Greek Omega slam down where I’d just been standing.

Then I saw the hand holding onto that battle-axe, then the body… And then the orange name that hung over its head.

**[Steel-Horned Minotaur]**

A Minotaur!? Like that thing Theseus killed a bajillion years ago!? That Minotaur!? And there was no way this thing was the boss, it was just a normal mob from the looks of things!

“I guess Minotaur do love Labyrinths…” I murmured, absentmindedly wondering if I was using the plural of Minotaur right. Did it have an s on the end, or was the plural the same as the singular?

_‘Questions for later!’_ I snapped at myself, holding up my Xiphos. _‘Don’t lose focus!’_

The Minotaur let out another roar as it charged me… I felt like the world was slowing down around me as my mind moved at rapid fire.

_‘It’s big…’_ I thought to myself. _‘And strong. But that weapon is heavy, and that means it can’t swing accurately… If I move only a bit, I can go for a swing at its neck…!’_

And so, I waited… Waited… The Minotaur grew near and swung its axe at me.

_‘Now!’_

I side stepped the swing, the axe crashing into the ground next to me, and I gave a mighty yell and swing with my Xiphos, aiming for the Minotaur’s neck!

**_Shink! Fwoosh! Squelch! Pft- Psshhh!_ **

I breathed heavily as the Minotaur’s head went sailing through the air, landing with a wet sound on the ground nearby, a geyser of blood shooting from its neck as it fell back and died. Luckily, none of the blood got on me.

**[You have defeated the ‘Steel-Horned Minotaur!’]**

**[You Levelled Up!]**

“Eh?” I blinked in shock as I stepped back from the now deceased Minotaur. “That was… So easy…” I looked at the sword in my hands. “Was it because I improved my strength stat so much? I should see what levelling up did, quickly… Status!”

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 2]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 2]**

**[Title: None]**

**[HP: 200] [MP: 22]**

**[Strength: 20] [Vitality: 11]**

**[Agility: 11] [Intelligence: 11]**

**[Sense: 11]**

**[Remaining Points: 0]**

“My stats all went up by one, my HP by one-hundred, and my MP by twelve,” I noted. “I can keep doing the daily quest for more stat points, but levelling up definitely seems to be the best way to get stronger quickly…”

My senses tingled, and I turned around, greeted by the sight of two more Minotaurs, with the same name as the one I just killed.

“I guess I can’t ask for this to be easy,” I gulped, before I stood ready with my Xiphos. With two of them present, I likely wouldn’t be able to employ the same tactic as before.

With a roar, the one on the left charged at me, the right one following close behind.

I let out a roar as I charged towards them. They swung at me from either side, intending to bisect me in the middle. I jumped to avoid it, surprised with the height I jumped, before I descended and stabbed into the skull of the first Minotaur, before quickly turning and cutting off the head of the second one.

**[You levelled up!]**

I took a breath as I looked at the dead monsters, feeling relieved. “That was easier than I thought… But I shouldn’t relax yet,” I looked around. “Nothing nearby… I’ll check my status again, to see what changes levelling up game. Status!”

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 3]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 5]**

**[Title: None]**

**[HP: 310] [MP:35]**

**[Strength: 21] [Vitality: 12]**

**[Agility: 12] [Intelligence: 12]**

**[Sense: 12]**

**[Remaining Points: 0]**

“My health went up one-hundred-and-ten points this time, and my MP by twelve,” I noted, rubbing my head. “From the look of things… My HP goes up based on my vitality stat multiplied by a factor of ten. Since it was at eleven when I was level two, when I hit level three it went up by eleven times ten…”

I frowned at my MP. Why did that go up like that? It went up one more point than before, that seemed like a very strange multiplier. It wasn’t one to one with my intelligence points either, so why?

“It’s going up by one point two,” I realised. “Rounded to the nearest whole number. Ten times one point two is twelve, which is why I hit twenty-two MP when I hit level two. And eleven times one point two is thirteen point two. Round down, and you get thirteen. Then you slap the thirteen onto twenty-two, and you get thirty-five… What a weird multiplier.”

I shook my head, not willing to complain any further. In actuality, the MP was a huge boost. Sprint consumed one MP per minute I used it. With thirty-five MP, I could now use it continuously for thirty-five minutes.

I turned my gaze back to the Minotaur I hadn’t decapitated and noticed something. One of its horns had come off. I walked over to it and picked it up, only to recoil in surprise as a green text box appeared in front of my eyes.

**[Item: Minotaur’s Horn]**

**[Item Class: E]**

**[Type: Material]**

**[A large horn from a Minotaur. You may use it to craft a weapon, keep it in your inventory, or sell it in the store.]**

“There’s even a store?” I asked, not as surprised as I should be. “Let’s check it out. Store.”

**[Store]**

**[Potions] [Weapons] [Armour] [Accessories]**

**[Current Gold: 0]**

**[Buy] / [Sell]**

“Even a store huh…” I murmured, before another notification appeared in front of me.

**[Your level is not high enough to buy from the store.]**

“I guess the store can’t be used by newbies,” I scratched the back of my head. “The level barrier is probably ten, that’s usually how it goes with stuff like this…” I sighed. “Can I at least sell the horn?”

**[Would you like to sell Minotaur Horn?]**

**[Sell] / [Cancel]**

“Yes.”

**[You have sold Minotaur Horn.]**

**[You have obtained 50 Gold.]**

“Not a whole lot, huh?” I questioned with a small frown. “Then again, the Key was E-Rank, so this dungeon must be E-Rank too. It’s probably not worth a whole lot…” My senses pricked, and I slowly stood up, looking down the hall.

**[Steel-Horned Minotaur] [Steel-Horned Minotaur]**

**[Steel-Horned Minotaur] [Steel-Horned Minotaur]**

**[Steel-Horned Minotaur] [Steel-Horned Minotaur]**

And it went on an on as countless crimson eyes stared at me from out of the darkness of the ruined entrance hall. I gulped, a shudder running through my body. But I realised quickly, this wasn’t a shudder of fear.

_It was anticipation._

I was once told by someone who owned a bunch of video games, that there were certain games that gave you a ‘bug.’ The gaming bug, where you constantly went back to the game to play it over and over, even if you’d already beaten it 100%. You’d just keep going back and playing it over and over.

“Oh jeez, this is bad…” I said as I felt a grin come onto my lips, staring at the large number of Minotaurs slowly nearing me.

“I caught the bug.”

**~~Gaming Alone~~**

**[You Levelled Up!]**

**[You Levelled Up!]**

**[You Levelled Up!]**

**[You Levelled Up!]**

**[You Levelled Up!]**

**[You Levelled Up!]**

**[You have earned the Title: ‘Beast Slayer.’]**

“Man… I guess I’m stronger than I thought,” I breathed out with a huge grin on my lips as I sat amongst the broken bodies of various Minotaur. Many decapitated, some cut in half horizontally or vertically, and others just stabbed in the chest.

Blood coated the floors around me, and even got into my shoes. My clothing was torn, I had cuts all over my body… But despite that, I was feeling great.

How many people could claim they’d beaten so many Minotaurs? Nobody but Percy Jackson, that’s who! What’s more, my level went up a bunch of times as I fought! I was getting stronger with every kill, more powerful with every enemy defeat.

“Status.”

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 9]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 0]**

**[Title: Beast Slayer]**

**[HP: 1180] [MP:139]**

**[Strength: 27] [Vitality: 18]**

**[Agility: 18] [Intelligence: 18]**

**[Sense: 18]**

**[Remaining Points: 0]**

“It looks like I can breathe a bit easier,” I said with relief. “My HP is over a thousand. Doesn’t mean I can relax, but I can breathe a bit easier… Open Title: Beast Slayer.”

**[Title: Beast Slayer]**

**[A Title given to a warrior proficient in handling wild beasts.]**

**[40% stat increase against Beast-Type Enemies]**

“Oh, that’s really good,” I noted, since it seemed to be filled with Minotaurs. “Now I’ll be much better at handling any Beast-Types that come my way. What a useful title. Next… Open Inventory.”

**[Inventory]**

**[Weapons]**

**[Minotaur’s Axe x 5]**

**[Items]**

**[Minotaur Horn x 24] [Traveller’s Clothes x 2] [Travel Stone]**

“That’s more than I was hoping for from this dungeon already,” I said, before I took the Travel Stone out of my inventory. “I should head back…” I frowned as I looked at the stone… No, not yet.

I could grow more.

“I just have to make sure my time management is okay,” I murmured. “Query: How do I display time?”

**[Help]**

**[Query: How do I display time?]**

**[Answer: Access the Options Menu]**

“I have an options menu!?” I exclaimed in shock. It made sense but… Really? “Well, who am I to question the System, I guess… Options!”

**[Options]**

**[Cheats (Disabled)]**

**[Subtitles] [Off]**

**[Display Time] [Off]**

I stopped reading the options once I found what I was looking for. “Turn Display Time on.”

Instantly, a time appeared in the top right of my vision, moving for me to get a better look according to my will.

I got to Westover at about Two. Right now, it was three-thirty. That meant I’d been in the dungeon for an hour and a half without realising it.

“I guess time flays when you’re having fun… Or in this case, killing monsters,” I noted, closing my options menu. I brought up my weapon menu, taking out one of the Minotaur Axes.

**[Item: Minotaur Axe]**

**[Item Class: E]**

**[Type: One-Handed Axe]**

**[Attack: + 15]**

**[An axe with the blade in the shape of a Greek Omega, the last sight that many warriors see upon facing a Minotaur.]**

**[Effect: Deals 25% extra damage against ???.]**

**[Effect: Deals 10% extra damage against humans.]**

“Oh great, I can dual wield,” I said, before frowning. “But why the heck can’t I see what its strong against? Is it something I’m unaware of, and need to discover until I find out what it does extra damage against?” I shook my head. “Whatever. What matters is I can use it to help me clear out this area a bit faster.”

I turned and continued my trek through the Black Palace, as I’d taken to calling it. As soon as the doors to the next room opened, I was once again greeted with a legion of crimson eyes.

I couldn’t help the grin that came to my face as I charged into battle.

**[You levelled up!]**

**[You levelled up!]**

**[You levelled up!]**

**[You levelled up!]**

**[You levelled up!]**

**[You levelled up!]**

“It’s getting much easier now,” I said as I decapitated yet another Minotaur with my axe, black flipping over an attempt at swinging from behind and stabbing one in the skull and through its body. “Their names… Are white now, instead of orange…”

It was something I’d noticed when I hit level thirteen. Their names had become white instead of the orange from before, and it took much longer for me to level up. That told me that their names gave away their strength. White were weak, orange were strong, red were very strong.

It was five o’clock now, meaning I’d been in the dungeon for three full hours. In those three hours, I’d risen from level one to level fifteen, and had collected a bunch more Minotaur horns, way more axes than I knew what to do with, and bunch of clothing made from leather.

“I’m not going to level up much more by killing these guys,” I murmured, and then I felt a familiar chill that had be turn towards the entrance hall.

It was only filled with regular Minotaurs when I’d arrived, but once I hit level ten I’d felt a chill rush through me coming from the entrance hall. There was no doubt in my mind, I’d passed a certain threshold and summoned the boss back to the entrance hall.

“Status,” I said as I took a breath, using the back one of the dead Minotaurs as a seat.

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 15]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 54]**

**[Title: Beast Slayer]**

**[HP: 2410] [MP: 287]**

**[Strength: 33] [Vitality: 24]**

**[Agility: 24] [Intelligence: 24]**

**[Sense: 24]**

**[Remaining Points: 0]**

“I’m level fifteen…” I murmured. “My HP is above two-thousand, my MP is almost at three-hundred…” I looked at the weapons in my hand. My Xiphos was starting to have its edge dull, and I’d already had to replace my axe one.

I sold the axe in my hand to the store and took another one out of my inventory.

“I’ve only picked up normal clothes from killing these monsters,” I noted as I looked through my inventory. “No pieces of armour as of yet, and I haven’t gotten any gold from killing them. It seems selling the materials is part of the early game stuff, but I’ll do that later…”

I turned my attention back to the entrance hall. “Well, I guess it’s time to face the music,” I grunted, slowly standing up and making my way back to the entrance hall.

No Minotaur disturbed me as I made my way to those heavy doors. I lifted my foot and gave a mighty kick, the doors collapsing under the force of it, and I walked into the entrance hall.

And there stood the boss.

Shockingly, the boss was very human looking, but was very tall. Around three meters if I had to make a random guess. It had a mane of wild white hair that flowed behind it, along with a pair of horns coming out the top of its head.

It had a muscled but scarred upper body, cuts and markings all over it, with rusted armour covering its stomach and a red piece of cloth running from its waist to its feet, split into two sections.

In either hand it held a black halberd with the blades shaped like axes, and the tips long and sharp as a spear. On its face it wore an iron mask that very much resembled a bull. But through the sockets, I could see those crimson eyes glaring at me hatefully.

**[Minos’ Monster – Asterios]**

The name was orange, telling me that this enemy was strong. It even had a proper name, unlike all the Minotaurs I’d killed that had only been called after their species.

I gulped, feeling very glad that I’d levelled up to fifteen. There was no doubt in my mind that, if I had come here once I’d passed the monster threshold, that name would be red instead.

I took a deep breath and hardened my will. I lifted my Xiphos and my Axe, hardening my gaze as I glared right back into those red eyes.

“Bring it.”

With a roar, Asterios charged at me, and I at it. We both swung at each other, weapons locking up as we glared into each other’s eyes.

I could hear the growling from behind that iron mask, the grinding of teeth in pure anger. I lifted my foot and delivered a solid kick to its chest, flying back a short distance from the impact and landing on my feet.

Asterios skid back a few feet but held their ground as they glared at me hatefully. They let out another roar and charged again, swinging wildly with their halberds. I managed to use my superior speed to dodge, and I smirked.

This guy had power, but he lacked speed. And that…

**[‘Sprint’ has been activated. Movement speed has increased by 30%. 1 MP will be consumed every minute.]**

Would be his downfall.

I vanished in a blur, moving behind Asterios and slashing at his back with my Xiphos, making him roar in pain as he wildly turned around and swung for my neck.

I jumped over the swing and landing behind him, slashing at his back with my axe this time, and leaving a bloody ‘X’ on his back from where I struck.

“Ugh…” A voice came from beneath the iron mask, and I jumped back in surprise. It sounded male… Gruff, and wild, but it sounded remarkably human. But I knew he wasn’t human, my Xiphos couldn’t hurt humans.

“Here I go!” He roared loudly, and I felt the area around me tremble. “Get lost! Wander! And die! **Chaos Labyrinth!** ”

My eyes widened in shock as the entire palace shook violently.

**[Asterios has used ‘Chaos Labyrinth.’ The structure of the area will now change. While in the Labyrinth, the Player will lose 10% of their Strength, Agility, and Vitality.]**

I gasped in shock at the notification, and suddenly huge walls rose up around me, easily five meters, and blocked me off from the Minotaur.

This wasn’t good. Now I was at a disadvantage. In the Labyrinth, I didn’t have as much mobility as I did before, meaning I’d have to fight Asterios head on… If I could find him first!

I cursed as I kept sprint activated and began to dash around the Labyrinth to either find Asterios or find the exit. Whichever came first!

I didn’t find him first, he found me.

I heard a roar from behind me after fifteen minutes of sprinting around, Asterios having just turned a corner as I passed by it. I looked back with wide eyes as he swung at me, jumping back and yelling in pain as the blade cut into my skin.

Had I been any slower, it would have bisected me no problem!

I glared at Asterios and lifted my weapons, and he did the same. We charged and locked up weapons again… Or so it seemed at first. When Asterios looked at our weapons clashing, my sword wasn’t there. Instead, I was using all of my Strength to hold back both of his halberds.

And my sword?

That was in my other hand, pointed for a strike!

I didn’t aim for his chest, instead I aimed for and stabbed through his right arm.

He roared in pain and stumbled back, dropping the Halberd he’d been holding.

I didn’t hesitate as I dropped my axe and rushed forwards, picking up his Halberd on the way as I jumped up and then descended down towards him, aiming the Halberd for his neck!

It wasn’t out for the count yet as it backed up, causing the Halberd to stab into the ground, and went to stab me instead!

I grit my teeth and turned, screaming in pain as it stabbed through the arm I’d been holding the Halberd with, forcing me to let go. I dropped my Xiphos as I grabbed onto the shaft of his weapon, forcing it down as I raised my knee.

**_Snap!_ **

The Halberd broke under the forth of my strength, and Asterios stumbled forwards in surprise. The Halberd fell out of my arm and onto the floor, and that was when I moved again.

I moved behind him and grabbed my limp arm with my good arm, wrapping it around his neck, and tugging hard. “I put all my points into strength!” I roared. “Even with the reduction, if it’s this much…!”

Asterios grabbed onto my limp arm that was choking him out, clawing at it to try and get it off. When that failed, it began harshly backing up into walls, making me yell in pain. But still, I refused to let go as I endured the pain, endured the clawing and attacks.

Slowly, Asterios’ hands lost power. His slams got weaker, and he slowly fell to his knees, just trying to breathe. I didn’t let go, I didn’t dare. Instead I tightened my hold.

“Die…” I growled. “Die…! Would you just fucking die already!?” I screamed at him!

“Ack… Ack…!!” Asterios tried to force strength into his limbs, trying to find the strength to knock me off… Until his body went limp, falling on the ground.

I didn’t hesitate or risk anything. I quickly grabbed my Xiphos, pulling my limp arm to safety, before stabbing Asterios through the head.

**[You levelled up!]**

**[You levelled up!]**

**[You levelled up!]**

**[You have slain ‘Minos’ Monster- Asterios.’]**

“Ha… Ha…” I breathed heavily, my arm mending and all the wounds and scratches disappearing from my body as my body was healed from the level up though the fatigue didn’t fade.

“I guess… I was a bit stronger than you… Huh…” I grinned weakly down at the now dead Minotaur, looking up at the blue screens coming to my vision.

**[You have obtained Asterios’ Halberd.]**

**[You have obtained ‘Perseverance.’]**

**[You have obtained Asterios’ Essence.]**

I opened up my inventory to quickly observe the new items I obtained, blinking in surprise at the sight of a new rune stone. I took it out to look at it first.

**[Item: Perseverance Rune]**

**[Item Class: C]**

**[Type: Skill Rune]**

**[A Rune Stone containing the Passive Skill ‘Perseverance.’ This skill gives the Player 50% Damage Reduction when HP is blow 30%.]**

**[Use] / [Cancel]**

“Woah…” I whispered, staring at the description. “That’s useful for when I’m in a tough situation… Use.”

**[You have used ‘Perseverance Rune.’]**

**[You have obtained the Passive Skill ‘Perseverance.’]**

“Now… The other two items…” I took out the Halberd first.

**[Item: Asterios’ Halberd]**

**[Item Class: C]**

**[Type: One-Handed Halberd]**

**[Attack: +25]**

**[A Halberd forged for the Minotaur in Minos’ Labyrinth. Capable of slaying almost any that wander into its wielder’s path.]**

**[Effect ‘Bleed’: Attacked Foes lose 1% of Health every 1 second.]**

**[Effect: Deals 50% Extra Damage to ???.]**

**[Effect: Deals 30% Extra Damage to Humans.]**

**[Requirements: 30 Strength]**

I whistled lowly as I looked at the Halberd. “Wow, this thing is good. Crazy good… I think this will replace my axe, I’ll have to see if I can get my Xiphos repaired somehow…” I stored it in my inventory for the moment, and then checked the last item. It was a large, crimson pearl. It almost seemed to throb in my hands, like some kind of heart beat.

**[Item: Asterios’ Essence]**

**[Item Class: C]**

**[Type: ???]**

**[The Essence of the original Minotaur: Asterios. It can be ???. It cannot be sold.]**

“Another mystery huh?” I sighed but couldn’t complain too much. It had the potential to be useful to me in the future, so I slipped it back into my inventory and looked around. “Well now what?”

**[The boss has been slain. The dungeon’s interior will return to normal.]**

I looked around and noticed the walls of the Labyrinth were disappearing, the dreary halls of the black palace replaced with the familiar walls of Westover Hall. I looked down and noticed even my clothes were repaired, no signs of damage or blood on them. How convenient.

I was still quite tired, taking deep breaths. Thankfully, the sun was only just starting to set, so I had a little bit of time.

I decided I’d go find Nico and Bianca, only for a small missile to fly into me and hug me. “Percy!” I heard Nico’s voice say from below, looking down at him as he grinned up at me. “You’re okay!”

“Of course, I’m okay,” I told him with a smile. “You know me, not easy to keep me down.”

“I see someone is out of the hospital,” Bianca said as she walked up, though she looked completely relieved that I was okay.

“Not quite,” I said. “I’m pretty much recovered, but they want me to stay a few more days. Keeping an eye on me to make sure I’m 100%, so to speak. I just came to visit you and Nico, though I have to be back before dark.”

“We’re just relieved that you’re doing okay,” Bianca said. “The school didn’t tell us much, just that you were kidnapped and injured before you were found. What happened, Percy?”

“I’d rather not talk about it,” I grimaced. “It’s… A bit dark what happened and, despite your maturity, it’s not something you should hear. And it _really_ isn’t something Nico should hear.”

Bianca frowned, but nodded. “It’s really late,” she said. “You should head back. Tomorrow’s a weekend, so we’ll come by to visit you, okay?”

“Really?” Nico’s eyes lit up. “We can go?”

“I’ll need permission, but it won’t be a problem I don’t think,” Bianca told Nico. “You just get some rest Percy, okay? You look exhausted.”

“Ah, yeah,” I nodded. “I look forward to your visit tomorrow,” I gave them a smile and waved goodbye, before I left Westover Hall and headed back towards the hospital.

Today had been a crazy long day, with the Penalty Quest, the Daily Quest, the Dungeon… But I came out of it stronger, much stronger, that much I was sure of. I smiled a bit, looking forward to what the System would bring… Before I froze as something pricked at the edge of my senses and I turned around… Only for my eyes to widen in shock.

Long blonde hair. Sky blue eyes… And a sword on her waist.

As unbelievable as it was, there was Alice Cymbeline. For some reason, nobody else was around, it was just the two of us. And she stared directly at me. This time, when I met her gaze, she didn’t look away.

“Percy Jackson,” she said my name slowly, as if saying it for the first time. “My name is Aiz Wallenstein. I’ve come here to recruit you.”

… What?

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 18]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 72]**

**[Title: Beast Slayer]**

**[HP: 3160] [MP: 377]**

**[Strength: 36] [Vitality: 27]**

**[Agility: 27] [Intelligence: 27]**

**[Sense: 27]**

**[Remaining Points: 0]**

* * *

**Word Count: 4476**

**Publish Date: 11th January 2019**


	4. IV: Demigod

You know, I pictured that day going very differently.

I expected to wake up, maybe attempt the Daily Quest, though not go for the run, and hoped I got some partial rewards from it. I hoped I’d be able to speak with Nico and Bianca, reassure them that I was okay, and then spend some time figuring out the game system.

I didn’t expect to be forced to a desert and be changed by Centipedes with poisoned fangs.

I didn’t expect to have to do a 10KM run.

I didn’t expect to be going into a dungeon and killing a bunch of Minotaurs.

And, above all, I most certainly didn’t expect Alice Cymbeline- or Aiz Wallenstein as she called herself- to confront me on my way back to the hospital and tell me she’d come to recruit me.

“I’m sorry, you what?” I questioned. “Recruit me? For what?”

“Let me answer your question with another question,” she said. “Have strange things ever happened around you, Percy?”

I immediately tensed, eyes wide. Was she talking about the System? But how was that possible, nobody even seemed to be able to see it besides me!

“ADHD, Dyslexia,” Aiz continued, though she noticed I was tense. “Kicked out of several schools. Taken all together, it’s a clear sign,” she said. “You, Percy Jackson… Are a Demigod.”

“… A what now?” I asked, feeling confused. She wasn’t talking about the system… Demigod? As in, one from the Ancient Greek legends?

“A Demigod,” she repeated. “Half-God, Half-Human. You never knew your father, did you?”

“What does that have to do with-!”

“Isn’t it strange?” Aiz asked me. “How your father was entirely absent? Not even child support money, and your mother never tried to find or track him down for it, despite the fact she claimed they fell in love.”

I hesitated… Yes, it was a bit strange. If they were in love, my dad should have been sending my mother child support money. But we never had any on it, which was one reason she’d ended up marrying Gabe in the first place.

“What excuse did she give you?” Aiz asked. “Lost at sea? Exploring the skies? Sticking to the shadows?”

I flinched hard when she said lost at sea. “How do you know all this?” I demanded, eyes narrowing. I was ready to take out my Halberd, she was clearly dangerous.

“Lost at sea then,” she said, noticing my flinch. “If you doubt me, then here,” she pulled out a water bottle and tossed it to me, and I snatched it out of the air. “Pour it on your hand while thinking ‘dry.’”

I frowned, slowly uncapping the bottle as my eyes never left her. _‘Dry,’_ I thought, pouring the water on my hand. To my shock, my hand didn’t get wet. It was cool, but not wet. Completely dry. “W- What?”

“You are a Demigod, Percy Jackson,” Aiz told me again. “A Son of Poseidon, God of the Seas.”

**[Alert!]**

**[You have uncovered information.]**

**[The Passive ‘Son of the Poseidon Lv. MAX’ has been unlocked.]**

I gasped in shock, dropping the water bottle as I stared at the screen… Even the system was backing her up. My father was the Greek God Poseidon? No, wait, gods were real in the first place!?

“Why are you telling me all this?” I asked, suddenly questioning a lot of things. If my dad was a god, why didn’t he help my mother out more? If he was a god, why didn’t he stop Smelly Gabe? Why was he never present, never helping us?

Why?

“I told you already,” Aiz said. “I have come here to recruit you.”

“… Is this really something to discuss out in the open?” I asked, glancing around. Nobody was around, but I couldn’t be completely sure.

Aiz frowned at my words… Before nodding. “Follow me,” she said as she walked past me.

I reluctantly followed, silence overtaking us as we walked.

She led me to small white building, a house. It looked normal to the untrained eye, but something about it made me shudder and stare at it with trepidation.

She opened the door and stepped inside. I followed behind.

**[You have entered the House of Aiz Wallenstein. No outside forces can hear while you are in this location.]**

My eyes widen in shock at that. Nobody could hear us… Soundproof? That could mean multiple things.

It would mean nobody would hear our discussion, but it also meant nobody would hear things if they turned ugly and she decided to attack me.

I followed Aiz as she led me to the main area of the house, taking a seat on a chair, and gesturing to the one opposite her… Coincidentally, just in range of her sword.

Yeah, coincidence… I doubted that.

Even so, I slowly took a seat opposite her. “… Recruit me for what?” I asked.

“There are multiple groups of Demigods out there,” she explained. “The best known one is Camp Half-Blood. It is a Summer Camp for Demigods, though you can stay year-round, where they train safely. There is a barrier around the Camp that keeps them safe from monster attacks.”

“Wait,” I stared at her. “Monster attacks. As in the monsters from Greek Mythology? Like Medusa, the Kraken, those?”

“Yes,” she frowned. “Try not to use their names, just call them monsters. Names have power, and by using their names you’re practically sending up a flare that screams, ‘I’m here, come eat me.’”

I gulped… Yeah, considering the damage done to my arm against Asterios, I didn’t fancy my chances against Medusa or the fucking Kraken. “Sorry. Continue.”

She nodded. “Recently, a large group of demigods have been defecting from Camp Half-Blood,” she continued. “They’ve joined up with the titans, who are starting to make a comeback under the Titan King’s rule. Most of them defected because their parents never claimed them, making them feel unloved. They have bitter feelings against the gods, so they’re even willing to team up with monsters to get some measure of revenge.”

“What?” I blinked. “Why didn’t they just claim them? Is it hard?”

“No,” Aiz shook her head. “But most gods want their children to ‘prove themselves’ in some way before they are claimed. Most kids never get to go on a quest like in the stories, so they never get claimed. It’s sickening, but the gods are still far better than the titans.”

“And what about you?” I asked with a frown. “Which side are you on?”

“Neither,” Aiz said. “I’m part of a third group, mostly consisting of a very specific group of demigods. We call ourselves ‘Tribus.’ It means ‘Three’ in Latin. The majority of us consist of children of the big three gods of Olympus. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. The three who reign over the three major parts of the planet; Sky, Sea, and Underworld.”

I gulped. “Why didn’t you just go to the Camp?”

“Because we aren’t meant to exist,” Aiz responded. “World War Two was a messy affair, but in truth it was a war fought between children of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, with children of Hades on the other side. You’ve probably heard of one of Hades most famous children, Adolf Hitler.”

My eyes widened in shock. “I’m sorry, what!? Hitler was Hades’ kid!?”

“One of his greatest disgraces,” Aiz confirmed. “After the war, a Prophecy was given. That a child of the big three would reach the age of sixteen, and would determine the fate of Olympus, to save or destroy it. The big three swore an oath to never have another demigod child, to try and stave off their fate.”

“But I’m here,” I said.

“And I’m here,” Aiz agreed. “Zeus didn’t keep to the oath for even a week before he broke it and did everything he could to hide his child. But something strange happened. The child hit sixteen… And nothing happened. No destruction of Olympus, no big threat, nothing. It quickly became apparent that the prophecy didn’t mean the next child of the big three to hit sixteen, but a random child of the big three, meaning the oath they made was worthless.”

I nodded… So, Zeus was a horn dog, and the Prophecy was referring to one very specific person. “But what does this have to do with me?”

“Because we’re children of the big three, and aren’t meant to exist, we aren’t allowed to go to Camp Half-Blood,” she explained. “If we went, then other gods would be made aware of our existence, and they’d start fussing over the Prophecy. Zeus had another daughter awhile back, Thalia Grace. The girl was claimed, unlike the rest of my group, and died before reaching Camp Half-Blood. As she was dying, Zeus turned her into a pine tree that strengthened the barrier protecting the camp.”

I frowned… He claimed his daughter, and then when she was dying her turned her into a tree? Used her as fuel for a barrier, to protect the other kids?

What kind of person did that? It meant she wouldn’t pass onto the Underworld, since it must exist, and that meant no meeting her loved ones after death!

“That’s cruel,” I whispered.

“We all thought so too,” Aiz agreed.

“So, what then?” I asked. “You want to recruit me just because I’m a child of the big three?”

“Because you’re a child of Poseidon specifically,” Aiz explained. “I say we hold mostly kids of the big three, but a child of Poseidon hasn’t been born since World War Two. Kids of Hades and Zeus, plenty, but not even a single child of Poseidon. Not until you.”

I gulped, not liking where this was going.

“We want to recruit you,” she continued. “You would greatly help our progress in building our own domain, like Camp Half-Blood, by helping create a steady supply of water. You’ll also be able to bring Pegasi for us to use in battle if there’s a need for it.”

So, they wanted to use me to further themselves, was what I got from that… I appreciated the feeling of being wanted, but this… It sounded like they didn’t care about me. Only what I could do to help them further themselves.

I hated that. But I was still weary of her sword.

“You’ve given me a lot of information,” I said, before glancing outside the house. “And it’s getting dark, I need to be back at the hospital before then. Can I have some time to think about this offer of yours?”

Aiz nodded, before she pulled a card from the table beside her and handed it to me.

I took it and looked at it, before blinking. It was solid black, with nothing written on it.

“I can only give you until this Christmas,” Aiz said. “Then I must return to my group, so I will need your answer before then. When you’ve made your choice, hold the card and say ‘Tribus.’ It will alert me that you’ve made your choice and will open up a link for us to speak. Think of the card like a mobile phone with only my number on it.”

I nodded and slowly stood up, slipping the card into my pocket for now. I’d put it in my inventory later.

She led me to the door, opening it up for me. “Please continue to call me Alice while in school,” she said. “It is a pseudonym, just in case the gods start to track down our location.”

“I will,” I nodded, before I walked out without so much as another word to her.

What. The. _Fuck!?_

That was way too much of an information dump for one god damn meeting- or was it gods damned meeting?

So apparently, I was a Demigod. The son of the Greek god, Poseidon, and I wasn’t even supposed to exist.

Yeah, real comforting thoughts!

“Skills,” I murmured, wanting to at least see if the now unlocked passive did anything good for me. “Open Son of Poseidon.”

**[Skills]**

**[‘Son of Poseidon’ Lv. MAX]**

**[The blood of the sea god flows through your veins, making you half-human, and half-god. As child of the seas, all liquids and sea creatures bow to your whim.]**

**[Permanently increases Strength by 15, and Agility by 15.]**

**[Effect 'Water Breathing': You can breathe underwater as if it were clear air.]**

**[Effect 'Communication with Sea life': You can speak to, understand, and command most animals and creatures that live in the sea]**

**[Effect 'Communication with Horses': You can speak to, understand, and command any equine creatures]**

**[Effect ‘Blessing of the Sea’: Being in contact with water will explosively increase regeneration ability and increases all stats by 50%.]**

**[Demerit ‘Curse of Lamia’: Greek Monsters are able to smell your scent and track you down.]**

Oh.

_Oh. My. Gods._

‘Broken’ didn’t even begin to describe the skill I’d just unlocked! I thanked Aiz mentally for telling me everything, she’s just given me a completely broken skill. If I ended up in a Dungeon with any form of water in it, I would murder everything in it without a damn problem!

I did wonder why Grand Caster Solomon’s blessing didn’t cancel out the curse of the Lamia but figured it couldn’t negate the demerits from other passive abilities. The System did need to have some form of balance in it, after all.

I barely made it back to the hospital in time and was quickly led back to my room. The nurse left to get me breakfast, and I changed into my hospital clothes before climbing into bed.

I didn’t plan on interacting with Alice- Aiz- once I got back to school. There was no doubt in my mind that she’d have been completely willing to kill me right then and there, without a moment of hesitation, if I’d done something to anger her.

She was strong, my sense stat could deduct that. Much stronger than I was at the moment, even with my new buffs. I lifted my hand, staring at it… Before I clenched my fist.

I had to get stronger. Even stronger than I was now. It was the only way to survive in this world.

Especially now that monsters would be after me.

**~~Gaming Alone~~**

It was about a week later, at around noon, that I was finally discharged from the hospital and led back to Westover Hall by a teacher.

I’d continued to do the Daily Quest every day, I didn’t want to go to the penalty area, but I noticed my body slowly growing as I did it. Just like Perfect Body said, my appearance was improving based on my stats. I could tell by looking in the mirror, and from the muscles I was getting. A six-pack was starting to form on me, and I actually had muscles to flex and show off if I wanted to now.

I’d grown a few inches too, but thankfully the leather clothing I’d gotten from killing so many Minotaurs adjusted to my size, so I took those out of my inventory and wore them instead of my old clothes. They were comfortable too, though they offered no bonus stats. They were just for aesthetics.

Even so, I suspected I would be getting even more chiselled in the coming weeks, though I didn’t think I’d be getting taller. The process would be slow though, likely so the System made sure nobody noticed anything strange.

“You are being excused from the Homework you missed while hospitalised,” Ms Gottschalk said to me once she led me back to my dorm room. “And you are being excused from classes for the rest of the day. But you are expected to do your best to catch up on what you’ve missed in your own time, am I understood?”

“Yes, Ms Gottschalk,” I nodded. It wouldn’t be too hard, as I’d noticed something about reading and writing while I was in the hospital.

If being a demigod gave me ADHD and Dyslexia, then why hadn’t they shown up on my Son of Poseidon passive? The reason was that Grand Caster Solomon’s blessing _did_ fix some things on the passive, just not Lamia’s curse. It removed my ADHD and got rid of my Dyslexia. I was now just like any other ‘normal’ person and was able to concentrate on work more easily.

It was a dream come true.

“Good,” she nodded sharply. “Please try not to wander the corridors during classes, other students are trying to learn. You may go to the cafeteria during lunch.” With that said, she turned and walked away without so much as another word.

I made my way into my dorm room, glancing around. It was exactly how I left it, if a bit dusty since I hadn’t been here for a week. I took a seat on the bed and looked forwards. “Status.”

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 18]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 0]**

**[Title: Beast Slayer]**

**[HP: 3,160] [MP: 377]**

**[Strength: 51 (36) +/-] [Vitality: 27 +/-]**

**[Agility: 42 (27) +/-] [Intelligence: 27 +/-]**

**[Sense: 27 +/-]**

**[Remaining Points: 21]**

I nodded as I looked at the screen in front of me. A week in hospital had given me 21 stat points total for doing the daily quest every day, but I hadn’t spent any of the points yet. I wanted to have some time to think about it before I put it into anything.

“Time for a review,” I murmured. “I don’t need any more points in Strength right now, nor many in agility thanks to the permanent buff from Son of Poseidon. I want to have good synergy and balance between my stats, so I should put some points into Vitality, Sense, and Intelligence. But the problem is…”

My eyes locked onto the numbers in brackets, my base stats. My mind flashed back to Asterios’ Halberd, how it had a requirement before I was allowed to use it. Thankfully, I met the requirement already. But that told me there would be some equipment where I’d need to have certain values in order to effectively use it, and I don’t know if that meant I needed a certain number of base stats or not.

“Intelligence also seems a bit useless to me right now,” I scratched the back of my head. “It’s definitely related to magic, but the problem is I don’t have any magic spells right now… However, I may obtain some in the future… The power of the sense stat can’t be underestimated either…”

I took a breath before I made my choice. “I’ll put four stats in strength, six in agility, five in vitality, four into sense, and two into intelligence.” The numbers on the screen changed before showing my new stats.

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 18]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 0]**

**[Title: Beast Slayer]**

**[HP: 3,160] [MP: 377]**

**[Strength: 55 (40)] [Vitality: 32]**

**[Agility: 48 (33)] [Intelligence: 29]**

**[Sense: 31]**

**[Remaining Points: 0]**

I nodded in satisfaction. Strength was still my highest stat, but now it was a bit balanced out with vitality and agility. Sense would level up with time but determining the enemies strength would be useful which was why I’d poured so many stat points into it. And intelligence was me future proofing in case I got any magic spells, or MP intensive skills.

I cracked my neck as I dismissed the menu, opening up my inventory just to double check things. Out of the seven random boxes I’d obtained from the daily quests over the last week, I hadn’t gotten another key to an instant dungeon. I’d gotten things like bandages, and pens. I must have gotten very lucky to have obtained the dungeon key.

“Well, at least I won’t have any trouble with losing pens anymore,” I chuckled softly. Gods bless the inventory, it meant I didn’t lose anything anymore. What’s more, it seemed to be limitless in what it could hold, no ‘certain number of slots’ like I’d seen in other games. Very useful.

“Store.”

**[Store]**

**[Potions] [Weapons] [Armour] [Accessories]**

**[Current Gold: 2750]**

**[Buy] / [Sell]**

I’d sold all but five of the Minotaur horns I’d collected, deciding to keep them in case of crafting, and it had netted me around another three-thousand gold in total. But looking at the prices in the store, it was ridiculous. Even the lowest grade potion was one-thousand gold.

I sighed and closed the menu before standing up, checking the time. It was 12:15, meaning people would be in the cafeteria by now. And honestly, I could use some food that wasn’t from a hospital.

I left the dorm room and headed straight for the cafeteria. I stood in line for my food, absentmindedly aware of the gazes I was getting from a lot of the girls. I saw blushes on their cheeks but did my best to ignore it as I got my food and looked around for Nico and Bianca.

I found them sitting at a table near the windows and began to make my way over… But half way towards them, I froze as I felt it.

The aura lingering around them both. The closest thing I could equate it to was the feeling I’d had when pinned to that alter, when I felt the life slipping away from me. I don’t know how I didn’t feel it a week ago, but perhaps breaking thirty in my sense stat made me able to feel it.

_Death_.

The aura of death lingered around them both. I remember what Aiz said to me about the big three, about demigods…

Was it possible that Nico and Bianca were demigods too? They must not have been aware of it, but it would explain why people tended to avoid them until I came around. They must have felt that death aura around them and decided to avoid them from the uneasy feeling the pair gave off.

I shook my head. Aiz only mentioned me. She probably didn’t even realise Bianca and Nico were demigods, children of Hades if I were to guess, and that was fine. I didn’t want Nico and Bianca getting involved in that kind of world. I didn’t think it would be good for them, or their sanity.

I made my way over to them and took a seat as I set my tray of food on the table. “Hey,” I greeted.

Bianca looked at me and her eyes widened in surprise, a light blush dusting her cheeks. “P- Percy!?” She exclaimed in shock, though she was unheard by others over the noise in the cafeteria. “What the heck happened to you? You looked totally normal a week ago. Now you’re… You’re…!”

“You’re jacked!” Nico said, poking at my arm. “Woah, that’s real muscle under the jacket! How did you get so ripped so quickly? I thought it took a long time to build up muscle!”

“Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and plenty of juice,” I responded. I wasn’t exactly lying, I just wasn’t telling him the entire truth.

Nico’s eyes widened in awe before he turned back to his carton of juice. He lifted it up and drunk it all down right away. I had to stifle the chuckle that wanted to come out.

“So, any interesting gossip go around while I’ve been gone?” I asked Bianca.

“Just one,” Bianca said. “It’s about Alice Cymbeline.”

It took all of my restraint not to flinch at the mention of her name. “Oh? What happened?”

“She was caught out after curfew,” Bianca explained. “Got detention for it, the first time she’s ever gotten in trouble. Got caught out the day you came to visit us, actually. What a coincidence, right?”

“Yeah, what are the odds?” I agreed, becoming less impressed with her group by the minute. What kind of big powerful demigod would let themselves got caught out after curfew? “Who found her?”

“It was Dr Thorn,” Bianca told me. “Speaking of, he just came in.”

I turned to look… And froze as I spotted him. More specifically, the red name above his head.

**[The Manticore – Doctor Thorn]**

I quickly turned away from him, doing my best to hide my panic.

Doctor Thorn was a fucking Manticore, another Greek Monster. What’s more, his name was red right now. That meant he was much stronger than Asterios had been, and that wasn’t good for me. I needed another way to level up, and fast.

“Tough luck for her,” I said. “Dr Thorn is always brutal with his detentions, he’s one of the reasons I don’t misbehave at all during his class.”

Bianca nodded in agreement. “Yeah… Plus I swear sometimes he looks intensely at Nico and I,” she frowned. “It makes me feel super uncomfortable.”

Another memory from my talk with Aiz came to my mind. How Demigods were teaming up with monsters… My gut instinct told me Thorn didn’t want to kill Nico and Bianca… No, my gut was telling me he wanted to kidnap them and have them join the Titan army.

I finished up my food. “I should head back to my room,” I apologised to Nico and Bianca. “I was warned to not walk around the halls during class, so I’ll see you both later. And Nico, make sure you stay out of trouble.”

Nico pouted. “Why do you always warn me and not Bianca?”

“You know why,” I smirked at him. “Bianca, keep him out of trouble.”

“You know I will,” she smiled at me. “You get some rest, okay Percy?”

“I will,” I promised. “Come by my dorm after class, we’ll hang out. See you!” I waved to them both before I left, heading back to my dorm room. My smile faded as soon as I left the cafeteria.

Dr Thorn was a monster, a high levelled one since his name was red. I couldn’t let Bianca and Nico be hurt by him. I needed to get back to levelling up, but how? Holding out hope on the random box was left too much to luck, and I didn’t want to risk Nico and Bianca’s safety on luck.

“Query,” I spoke, the Help menu appearing in front of me. “Ways to level up.”

**[Help]**

**[Query: Ways to level up.]**

**[Answer: The best way to level up is by going into dungeons. You can create instant dungeons by using Keys, or you can find naturally spawning dungeons. Naturally spawning dungeons refresh themselves one week after clearing it.]**

“So, I don’t need a key to get into dungeons,” I noted. “Query, how do I find naturally spawning dungeons?”

**[Query: How do I find naturally spawning dungeons?]**

**[Answer: Nearby naturally spawning dungeons are located on your map. You can access the map via the Options Menu.]**

“There was a map on the options menu?” I blinked… I really should read through my options menu at some point, but that was for later. I quickly brought up my options menu and enabled my map. It appeared right below the time in the corner of my vision and, like the time, moved into proper sight when I needed it.

To my surprise, I was already near a naturally spawning dungeon. There was one in the woods by Westover Hall, appropriately named ‘Westover Woods.’

“Query,” I spoke up. “What is the difference between naturally spawning dungeons, and instant dungeons?”

**[Query: What is the difference between naturally spawning dungeons, and instant dungeons?]**

**[Answer: Instant Dungeons are created with a key, cannot be re-entered once beaten, and cannot be left unless the boss is killed, or the Player uses a Travel Stone. Naturally spawning dungeons are found throughout the world and can be re-entered one week after each clearance. Naturally spawning dungeons can be left without the use of a Travel Stone or killing the boss by returning to the entrance. After clearing a naturally spawning dungeon, you are returned to the dungeon’s entrance.]**

I quickly did the math in my head. Today was Friday, and it was about 1PM. If I cleared the dungeon in about the same time as I cleared the Instant dungeon, I’d be done by 5PM. The Dungeon would then respawn again next Friday, though I could enter it again early Saturday morning instead after my run.

But that was assuming it wasn’t a high-level dungeon. If it was, I’d have to spend some time walking around town to see if I could find any other naturally spawning dungeons.

“It’s worth checking it out, at least,” I decided. I double checked my equipment, before I made my way through the halls of the school and slipped out, heading for the woods. I wondered, would this dungeon be the same rank as the Minotaur dungeon? Or higher ranking?

Soon enough, I arrived at the entrance to the woods and received my answer.

**[You have discovered ‘Westover Forest!’]**

**[Dungeon Class: D]**

**[Dungeon Type: Area]**

**[Enemies: Beast-Type, Humanoids]**

**[Do you want to enter the dungeon?]**

**[Yes] / [No]**

“D-Rank…” I murmured. “That’s one rank higher than the key I had before. Beast-Types are easy for me to handle thanks to my title, but humanoids…” I frowned, not comfortable with killing things that looked human. Asterios had looked human, sort of, but was still a monster as I could tell by the horns. “… It’s for the sake of levelling up,” I decided. “They may not be human, it won’t hurt to enter the dungeon at least.”

I took out one of my axes and the Halberd I got from killing Asterios. After Aiz’s explanation, I discovered they both did bonus damage against demigods. It wouldn’t help me in this dungeon, but I had plenty of axes, and the Halberd was a good weapon.

I looked at the text box in front of me, asking if I wanted to enter.

“Yes.”

The text box vanished, a blue portal of crackling energy opening up in front of me.

Despite myself, I couldn’t help the grin that came onto my lips. “Well then… Let’s see what this place has to offer!”

I stepped through the portal and entered the dungeon.

* * *

**Word Count: 5020**

**Publish Date: 11th January 2020**


	5. V: The Desire for Strength

**[You have entered Westover Woods.]**

Much like with the instant dungeon, as soon as I stepped through the portal the Woods completely changed. Whereas before they trees were drenched with rain, with red leaves falling, I was instead greeted to a lush forest that must have been present in early summer or the middle of spring.

The grass beneath my feet was slightly damp, indicating it had rained earlier, but the sun hung high in the sky and the light filtered through the forest leaves onto the ground below.

It was a beautiful place… But I didn’t let myself get caught up in how beautiful it was. Instead, I held my halberd and my axe at the ready. My senses were tingling, and I could hear them prowling in the woods around me.

The Monsters.

There were multiple numbers of them, all circling around me.

I heard a howl and one leapt at me from behind, I quickly jumped up and back flipped over the attempt, before coming down while cutting the monster in half vertically.

**[Shadow Stalker Hellhound]**

The name was orange… But it was just like the Minotaur, dying so easily.

Why was that? Orange monsters were supposed to have moderate strength, but just like the Minotaurs that weren’t Asterios… It was just so easily to kill.

The answer came to me moments after I thought about it. My strength stat. With the boost given by ‘Son of Poseidon’ my total strength was sitting at fifty-five. Considering I was only level eighteen, that was a huge number in my opinion. Clearly enough to bisect the Hellhound in one strike, which also told me it didn’t have the best defence.

If I were to guess, my stats were about on par with a C-Rank monster but, because my level was still a bit low, the monsters were classified as orange since the game accounted for my level, not my stats.

“How interesting,” I mused to myself, jumping up to stand in one of the thicker tree branches as another Hellhound leapt at me. From my place on the tree, I could see them all stalking around on the ground. There was a huge number of them, just like when I had to fight the Minotaurs.

It didn’t stop me then, and it wouldn’t stop me now.

**[Skill: Sprint has activated.]**

**[Your movement speed will be increased by 30%.]**

**[1 MP will be consumed every minute.]**

I soared down towards one Hellhound, piercing its skull with the tip of my halberd, before I turned as another one leapt at me, and I cut it in two with my axe.

Only for my axe to break after the kill.

My eyes widened, and I was unprepared for the next pounce, which hit me in my ribs and sent me skidding back.

**[HP: 2,710/3,160]**

“I guess the axe can’t handle cutting through these guys,” I said, holding my chest. “Must use up most of its durability. In that case…” I placed both hands on my halberd, tensing my arms. “I’ll just need to use two-hands on this.”

I ran around behind another Hellhound in the back of the pack, stabbing it in the skull. I then used the halberd to pole vault, grabbing it by the end just as it was about to get out of my reach. I landed on another Hellhound, cutting off its head, and then whirled around to stab another right in the heard it as leapt at me.

I spun the halberd around and send its corpse flying into one of its comrades, before I leapt upon them and cut both the corpse and the hellhound in half at the stomach.

**[You levelled up.]**

“It’s just like I thought,” I said, rising to my full height and facing the rest of the hellhounds. “At this moment, I’m high above you on the food chain.”

They growled at me, before they slowly backed up into the shadows, vanishing from my sight.

“Seems they retreated for now, they’ll probably come back with back-up,” I said, taking a seat and leaning against a tree as I de-activated Sprint. “But something isn’t right. For D-Rank Monsters, they seem a bit weak… Even if my stats are around a C-Rank, if my theory is right, they should still be harder to kill if they’re D-Rank. Which means…” I frowned as I noticed something around the necks of one of the hellhounds.

A collar.

“They’re trained by the real predator of this forest,” I murmured, standing up. “Likely the humanoids mention back at the dungeon’s entrance… How much further do I have to venture to find them, I wonder?”

I decided it was better to keep making my way through the forest than to keep asking questions.

A few hellhounds attacked me as I travelled deeper into the woods, but they were killed easily enough. I did collect a few drops from them, no armour still. But I got a nice-looking fur coat, I’d have to try it on later. I was no fashion expert, but I hoped it looked good with the rest of my clothing.

It was after twenty minutes of walking that I finally saw the humanoids the System had spoken about.

**[Goblin Soldier]**

“Hoh?” I murmured as I hid behind one of the trees, just in case. “Goblins, is it? Their names are orange, and theirs a lot of them…” Just like I’d thought, they were keeping the hellhounds as pets. It was evident by the fact some of them were in cages.

I took my Xiphos out of my inventory. It was chipped and a bit dull, but it could still cut. And so, it could still kill. Goblins were classified as monsters, therefore my Xiphos would do extra damage.

**[Skill: Sprint has been activated.]**

I surged out from behind the tree, jumping up high before I landed right in the middle of the camp they had set up, cutting off the heads of two Goblins that had been sitting around the fire.

**[You levelled up.]**

“Now this is more like it!” I grinned, drawing the attention of the rest of the goblins in the area. They all let out yells as they grabbed their various weapons and charged at me.

There were a lot of them, but they were slow. So very slow.

I bobbed and weaved between their numbers, stabbing, slicing, hacking, impaling. I used their bodies as shields, sometimes throwing the body into another group to stumble them before I leapt upon them and killed the group that was hit by the goblin I tossed.

Humanoids? They were certainly humanoids, but nothing for me to be concerned about killing!

I dismissed my Xiphos when the blade broke as I decapitated a goblin. Instead I wrapped my arm around the throat of one goblin, straggling it to death as I cut down every other goblin that charged and attacked me without remorse.

I felt the goblin under my arm go limb, so I used its body to block the swing of a mace, before cutting the attacking goblin in half from the waist!

I turned around… Only to stop.

What had been a camp of goblins was now a bloodbath of death. The forest floors were stained red with blood, and dead goblins and their body parts were spread out all across the camp.

“I… Got really into it, huh…” I felt embarrassed, and shame hit me. I was so absorbed in killing all the goblins that I hadn’t even noticed they were all dead until there were no more left. I felt awful, but I managed to brush it away. They were just created by the system, they didn’t really exist. Plus, the dungeon refreshed every week. So, there was no need to feel bad about killing them.

I looked at the blue text boxes that had popped up that I’d been ignoring as I murdered the goblins.

**[You levelled up.]**

**[You levelled up.]**

**[You levelled up.]**

**[You levelled up.]**

**[You received the Title: ‘Goblin Slayer.’]**

“Four level ups,” I nodded. “Not bad, not bad at all… Status!”

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 24]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 27]**

**[Title: Beast Slayer (+1)]**

**[HP: 5,230] [MP: 604]**

**[Strength: 61 (46)] [Vitality: 38]**

**[Agility: 54 (39)] [Intelligence: 35]**

**[Sense: 37]**

**[Remaining Points: 0]**

I whistled. Investing into my vitality had definitely been wise, my HP was now in the five-thousands. And my MP was now above six-hundred. That meant I could use sprint for a full ten hours now, and my total strength was now sitting above sixty.

“Open Title: Goblin Slayer.”

**[Title: Goblin Slayer]**

**[Before you, goblins tremble with fear as they know their death is swiftly approaching.]**

**[40% boost to all stats when fighting goblins.]**

I nodded, it was basically the same as Beast Slayer except it dealt with goblins instead.

I looked down at the corpses of the Goblins. Their names were present, but they were white now instead of orange. It seemed I’d crossed the threshold where they were considered a tough enemy.

“Inventory.”

**[Inventory]**

**[Weapons]**

**[Broken Bronze Xiphos] [Minotaur Axe x 8] [Asterios’ Halberd (Equipped)] [Goblin Sword x 4]**

**[Items]**

**[Minotaur Horn x 5] [Hellhound Fang x 21] [Travel Stone x 3] [Hellhound Fur Coat x 3]**

“Check Goblin Sword.”

**[Item: Goblin Sword]**

**[Item Class: D]**

**[Attack: +20]**

**[A sword used by goblins. A longsword for them, in the hands of a human it’s more like a short-sword.]**

**[Effect: Deals 25% Extra Damage to Humans.]**

“Hm… Decent weapon, but not really useful in this dungeon,” I said, dismissing my inventory for the time being. I gave a glance to my Halberd, surprised that it was still in such good condition. It was a higher ranked item so that was to be expected, but there wasn’t a dull on the edge or a chip on the blade or spear point.

Was the difference in durability between ranks that vast?

“I guess it doesn’t matter,” I shrugged. So long as the Halberd was in good shape, I wasn’t going to complain. I turned my gaze even deeper into the forest. I could sense it, a powerful enemy deeper in the forest. The boss, in all likelihood.

“I’ll have to find a C or maybe B-Ranked dungeon next,” I said as I began to make my way in deeper. “Because this is just too easy right now. At this rate, it’s not worth coming back here every week… I guess I’ll just have to hope that once I’m done here, I’ll be enough to handle Dr Thorn when the time comes.”

Dr Thorn had a red name, but now I understood something. The name only equated to the level. Orange meant ‘You are a few levels lower.’ White meant ‘You are the same or a higher level.’ And red could have meant anything from being ten levels lower, to even more.

But the system didn’t account for my stats, which made me act at a higher level. I was a level twenty-five, but my stats were on par with that of a level thirty, or possibly even higher.

**[You have entered the boss room.]**

I looked up to see the boss… And almost lost my lunch. Sweet gods, that thing was _hideous_.

I was looking at large, fat goblin sitting on a throne wearing only a loincloth, a red cape, and a crown that must have indicated it was the King of the Goblins or something. Its skin was a darker shade of green than the others, more like mould than the forest colour I saw on the rest of the goblins.

**[Supreme Goblin King Kalgolb]**

“Goblin King huh?” I asked, twirling my halberd around as I looked at the orange name. “You’re not much of a king when all your subjects are dead. Why don’t you come down from that throne and face me, ‘your highness?’”

Kalgolb growled at me, before he let out a roar. From behind the throne, six goblins came out. The difference between them and the normal goblins were that these were dressed in armour, and all held shimmering steel swords.

**[Elite Goblin Guards]**

“Elite, huh?” I smirked. “Let’s see how ‘elite’ you are when your blood stains the ground of this forest!”

I activated sprint and dashed forwards, moving to cut off the heads of one of the goblins… Only for my eyes to widen in minor surprise as it didn’t cut, instead hitting the neck. The Goblin turned around and swung at me, but I front flipped over it and landed a good distance away. My eyes narrowed at them, as I began to look at their armour with a more critical eye this time.

 _‘The neck is covered up to stop decapitation…’_ I noted, but I saw the goblin holding its neck in pain. _‘But there’s still pain. I must have hurt it, even despite the armour…’_

I jumped up as another goblin charged at me, missing its swing. I bounced off a branch and jumped down at it. I swung at its neck, then slashed across its stomach, then both arms, and then legs. All in rapid succession.

I heard a scream of pain before the goblin fell back on the ground, dead.

 _‘I see…’_ I noted. _‘The armour adds a lot of protection, but my strength stat is making up for the difference. I can still kill them, but it’ll take a few more swings than it normally would if they weren’t wearing any armour.’_

I grinned again, my confidence returning as I took a Goblin Sword out of my inventory. I didn’t know how long the Goblin sword would hold up, but longer than my Xiphos I would hope.

A cackle left my lips as I charged forwards, determined to rip the guards and the boss to shreds!

**~~Gaming Alone~~**

**[You levelled up.]**

**[You levelled up.]**

**[You have slain ‘Supreme Goblin King Kalgolb.’]**

**[You have obtained ‘Kalgolb’s Sword.’]**

**[Returning the Player to the Dungeon Entrance.]**

A light covered my body as I was returned to just outside the forest. Compared to the E-Rank Dungeon, that dungeon was far too easy. I’d need to go into a C-Rank Dungeon to start getting some real experience. I was also being led to believe that naturally spawning dungeons were easier than instant dungeons. It was disappointing really, I’d get nothing of value by going back there.

**[You cleared ‘Westover Woods’ for the first time.]**

**[Your rewards have arrived.]**

**[Would you like to claim your rewards?]**

**[Yes] / [No]**

“Oh?” I blinked. “It looks like I get rewards for the first time I clear a naturally spawning dungeon. That’s very good, helpful even. Yes.”

**[Dungeon Rewards]**

**[You have obtained the three rewards below. You may only collect one reward at a time.]**

**[Reward #1: Random Box]**

**[Reward #2: Stat Points + 3]**

**[Reward #3: ‘Bloodlust’ Skill Rune]**

**[Will you Accept?]**

**[Accept] / [Refuse]**

“Not bad,” I nodded in appreciation. “Stat points are always nice. And a new skill, that will definitely be useful. The random box is only helpful if it gives me something good… Accept Reward 1.”

The Random Box appeared in my hand and opened up revealing… Bandages, of fucking course. I shoved them in my inventory. “Accept Reward 2.”

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 26]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 51]**

**[Title: Goblin Slayer (+1)]**

**[HP: 6,000] [MP: 689]**

**[Strength: 63 (48) +/-] [Vitality: 40 +/-]**

**[Agility: 56 (41) +/-] [Intelligence: 37 +/-]**

**[Sense: 39 +/-]**

**[Remaining Points: 3]**

“I’ll keep those stat points for later,” I said, dismissing the menu. “And last one… Accept Reward 3.” I watched as my inventory opened up.

**[Inventory]**

**[Items]**

**[Bloodlust Skill Rune]**

“Check Bloodlust Skill Rune.”

**[Item: Bloodlust Skill Rune]**

**[Item Class: C]**

**[Type: Skill Rune]**

**[A Rune Stone containing the Active Skill: ‘Bloodlust.’ Effect ‘Fear’: All Stats -50%.]**

“Oh… That’s good!” I grinned, taking out the skill rune and using it, and immediately checking it in the skill menu for more details.

**[Skills]**

**[‘Bloodlust’ Lv. 1]**

**[Using strong energy, the selected target is put into a state of fear for 1 minute. Uses 100 MP.]**

**[Several targets can be selected.]**

**[Effect ‘Fear’: All stats -50%.]**

“Nice, very nice,” I grinned eagerly at that. If I could inflict fear on an enemy, even a strong one, it would become a much easier fight. But only for a minute. I’d have to consider investing more points into intelligence, though I planned to test out the skill before I made any choices on that front.

I checked the time. It was 3PM. The dungeon had only taken two hours to clear, and I gained a total of eight levels from it. Not bad, and the boss’ name had still been orange when I left. But overall the dungeon had lost its value to me, I’d likely never return to it.

I didn’t bother checking the sword I’d gotten for the moment, I wanted to get back to my room before Nico and Bianca did so we could hang out. I may have caught the gaming bug for the System, but I still wanted to spend time with my friends.

I made my way into the entrance hall, walked through the halls, and returned to my dorm room. Nico and Bianca were already standing out there. “Hey, you two,” I greeted, making them turn to me.

“Huh? Why are you out here?” Bianca asked. “Weren’t you told to not wander the halls during classes?”

“I was,” I agreed. “But there isn’t exactly a proper shower in the hospital, so I went to grab one. Then I remembered my toiletries are still in the group locker rooms from my last gym class. So, I grabbed them and headed to the main showers and…” I face palmed. “I left them in the locker after I was done…”

Nico snorted, and Bianca giggled. That was a lie on my part, my things were in my room, but I needed an excuse.

“Make sure you get them tomorrow then,” Nico told me. “It won’t do to have them stuck down in the locker rooms.”

“I’ll remember next time,” I told them before opening the door and leading them into my dorm room. I took a seat on the bed, Nico sitting beside me, while Bianca turned around the chair at my desk and sat on that.

“You should really clean your room,” Bianca said as she glanced around, wrinkling her nose at the sight of my clothes that no longer fit me laying around. Thankfully, my underwear was the one thing I made did _not_ rest in plain view for visitors to see.

“I’ll think about it,” I grinned wryly, while planning to do just that. I wanted to be a bit more organised in the future. I did still want to get a good job and make my mother proud of me. “So, how were your classes?”

“Boring,” Nico grumbled. “I learned some stuff, sure, but my head hurts a lot from all the info I had to absorb.”

“It’s for your own good, Nico,” Bianca said, rolling her eyes lightly. “I didn’t think class was too bad, though I had Dr Thorn and he was giving me those creepy looks again. Makes my skin crawl every time, I swear.”

“Just do your best to ignore him,” I suggested, resisting the urge to clench my fist. I wouldn’t let Thorn lay a single finger on either of them. I would tear him limb from limb if he ever dared to touch them. I would scatter his entrails to the god damn winds if he dared to hurt them. “Now, let’s stop talking about school then. How about we talk about some fun stuff?”

They both smiled, and we began to chat the day away. I realised how much I’d missed talking with the both of them, the hospital was so boring and dull. It didn’t have the same spark as the school did. While it was boring, here I had Nico and Bianca. My best friends, who were so incredibly fun to speak with.

I’d missed them.

I didn’t regret embracing the System. It had let me come back, to my mother. To both Nico and Bianca, I didn’t have to say goodbye just yet. I could continue living this life with them…

But could I protect them forever?

… No, I couldn’t. I couldn’t stay with Nico and Bianca forever, and I couldn’t protect them forever. One day, they’d be attacked by monsters when I wasn’t there. I couldn’t protect them forever, no matter how much I wanted to.

I saw the pair off once curfew started to near, promising to talk to them tomorrow. As soon as I closed the door, I dropped and began doing push-ups. I’d found working out to be rather therapeutic as of late, it helped me concentrate my thoughts.

What were my options right now?

The first option would be to call my mother. Despite the fact Poseidon was never around, I was sure he still loved my mother and told her who he was. Perhaps he’d told her about Camp too. If I contacted my mother, perhaps she could take Nico, Bianca, and myself to camp.

Another option was to join the titan army. I didn’t have any grudge against the gods personally, but if it would keep Nico and Bianca safe then I’d do it. Though judging how Thorn looked at them, they’d be injured if they joined. I refused to let that happen to my friends if I could help it.

My third option… Was to join Tribus. Nico and Bianca were Hades’ children, I was fairly certain of that even if I had no real way to confirm it. They and I would likely be welcomed with open arms. But the problem was I didn’t know how Tribus worked. The best option to protect Nico and Bianca sounded like Camp Half-Blood.

I didn’t want to trouble my mother for this, just on the chance she didn’t know Poseidon’s true nature. If I could help it, I didn’t want to involve my mother in this new world I’d discovered. I loved her too much to put that stress on her.

I didn’t trust Aiz, and I didn’t know enough about Tribus’ inner workings to join them. It could be like a ‘Survival of the fittest’ type of place where Nico and Bianca would be tossed aside if they didn’t improve quickly.

The titan army was also a hard no. While the gods hadn’t done anything for me, I wasn’t just going to tear them down on the off chance the titans were better rulers. Things were fine the way they were, and there was no chance things would get better if the titans were in charge.

Wait… There was a fourth option.

I could try to get even stronger.

The Dungeon nearby wouldn’t be helpful, and it was a bit luck based as I’d have to chance getting some decent dungeon keys from the random box… But if I got strong enough, perhaps I’d somehow get a skill that would let me protect Nico and Bianca. Even when I wasn’t around.

There was no guarantee, and it was heavily luck based, but… It was a chance I was willing to take.

I paused in my push-ups and looked up as I noticed a blue text box in front of me.

**[Daily Quest: ‘To Grow Strong!’]**

**[Clear Conditions]**

**[Push-Ups] [200/100]**

**[Curl-Ups] [100/100]**

**[Squats] [100/100]**

**[Running] [10KM/10KM]**

The number of push ups went to two-hundred, despite the fact I’d already cleared the quest. Why was that? Was there some kind of extra reward?

I did another push-up, but the counter didn’t rise above two-hundred. I quickly changed to doing curl-ups, another hundred, and the same with squats. I did a couple more of each, but it never went above two-hundred.

“Will I get something extra if I double up on the Daily Quest…?” I murmured. It was past curfew, so I’d have to be careful, but I could sneak out and run around the woods until I got to twenty kilometres, just to see if it did anything.

Sneaking out was easier than I thought. With my agility I was able to dart out of sight of the teachers before they could see me, and successfully made it out to the woods. I activated sprint and ran around. Seeing as I could hold sprint for ten hours, I didn’t have any problem with doing this. Though I’d have to keep an eye on my fatigue.

With sprint active, plus my agility, I got done in only half an hour. As soon as I hit the threshold, a new textbox appeared in front of me.

**[You have cleared the Hidden Quest: ‘Break the Limits!’]**

**[Quest Rewards]**

**[You have earned three rewards for clearing the quest. You may only collect one reward at a time.]**

**[Reward #1. Status Recovery]**

**[Reward #2. Stat Points +3]**

**[Reward #3. Blessed Random Box (Selected)]**

**[Reward #3. Cursed Random Box (Unselected)]**

**[Will you accept your rewards?]**

**[Accept] / [Refuse]**

“Doubling up revealed a hidden quest,” I blinked in surprise. “The rewards are the same as when I do the daily quest, except the third reward. It looks like I can only choose one of the two boxes from the third reward… Query. What is the difference between Blessed Random Box and Cursed Random Box?”

**[Query: What is the difference between Blessed Random Box and Cursed Random Box?]**

**[Answer: Blessed Random Box gives the Player an item they desire. Cursed Random Box gives the Player an item they need.]**

I nodded at the simple explanation. I wanted a higher ranked dungeon key. What did I need though? I didn’t know, perhaps the game would know what I needed in the future.

Another thought occurred. I didn’t need Status Recovery right now, I wasn’t particularly tired since the run was so short. But if I didn’t use the reward, would it go away?

“Query. What happens if I don’t claim a reward immediately?”

**[Query: What happens if I don’t use a reward immediately?]**

**[Answer: A reward will stay available for 24 hours after it has arrived. After 24 hours, the reward will disappear, no longer able to be claimed.]**

“Hm… That’s useful,” I nodded. “So, if I clear the Daily Quest, I can keep the Status Recovery for if I plan to go into a dungeon, or if I know I’m going to get into a tough fight. A bit inconsistent with help, but it will be useful for getting me out of tough spots. I have no plans on fighting yet so… Accept Status Recovery.”

I let out a sigh of contentment as my fatigue faded away into nothing, like it never existed. “Much better, I’ll need my energy to sneak back into my room. Accept Reward #2.” The status menu came up, but I quickly dismissed it. I had no desire to spend my stat points on anything yet. Instead, I would save them up just in case.

Now came the tough choice… Blessed Random Box, or Cursed Random Box? Both sounded useful in their own ways, but how did I pick between them?

Cursed Random Box gave me something I needed. But I didn’t know what I needed, and there was no guarantee what I needed would be helpful to me right now.

Blessed Random Box on the other hand, would give me an item I wanted. I wanted to get stronger, and for that I needed to enter a high-ranking dungeon. With all that in mind…

“Accept Blessed Random Box,” I decided finally.

**[You have chosen Blessed Random Box.]**

**[Do you want this reward? If you claim this reward, you may not obtain Cursed Random Box.]**

**[Yes] / [No]**

“Way to make a man fucking second guess himself,” I groaned out, before shaking my head. “Yes.”

**[You have obtained Blessed Random Box.]**

I held out my hand as a white box with a yellow ribbon wrapped up in a bow appeared in my hands. I stared at it intently, anticipation coursing through me. Just what would it give me? I wanted to get stronger, so would it give me the key to an instant dungeon? I had to know.

“Open.”

The box lid tilted open and there was a bright shine of light in my hands as the box disintegrated…

Before I found myself holding a bright crimson key.

**[Item: Demon Castle’s Key]**

**[Item Class: S]**

**[Type: Key]**

**[A key that allows you to enter ‘Dungeon: Demon Castle.’ Can be used at any building taller than 3 stories.]**

My mouth dried at the crimson key in my hands, eyes wide with shock. An S-Class item. More than that, I was literally holding a key that would lead me to the Demon King’s Castle. In other words, I was holding the key to hell.

An S-Class Dungeon. That was beyond my current abilities, there was no doubt of that in my mind.

_But there was a nagging in the back of my head. The desire to grow stronger. To surpass myself. I had a Travel Stone, I could leave at any time… Why not give it a go? Especially since…_

_Westover Hall was taller than three stories._

I looked back to Westover Hall. Then back to the key in my hand…

No, not yet. I wanted to be a bit more prepared before I headed into such a place. I wanted the Status Recovery reward ready as a back-up. I wanted my stats a little bit higher, all of them, so I decided I’d spend a week doing the Daily Quest over and over, building up another twenty-one stat points, twenty-four actually since I’d start on Saturday and then go through to the next Saturday, and then invest those stats in the places I thought I’d need.

Only then would I take on the dungeon.

I slid the key back into my inventory, took a deep breath, and snuck my way back in and headed to my room. Once again, avoiding the teachers was easy thanks to my agility stat. I was back to my room within ten minutes, changing into my pyjamas and slipping into bed.

In one week, I’d storm the Demon Castle…

I would level up even more. So that I could protect Nico and Bianca, and kick Doctor Thorn’s ass.

* * *

**Word Count: 5,072**

**Publish Date: 12 January 2020**


	6. VI: Surpassing One's Self

It was Sunday, only two days after I cleared the hidden quest and obtained the S-Ranked Dungeon Key. Since I didn’t have school, I spent most of my time together with Nico and Bianca, just hanging out and missing out on the week we lost after I got hospitalised.

Outside of speaking with them, I’d figured out a schedule for my daily quest. If I woke up at around 4AM to 5AM, I could do my daily quest in under an hour if I really pushed it. Thanks to my increased stats, fatigue didn’t come to me nearly as easily as it had the first time I did it, so there was actually no need to waste my Status Recovery reward.

That being said I also doubled up on the daily quest on Saturday, just to see if I would get another hidden quest. Sadly, that was not the case. The numbers didn’t go above two-hundred, and I didn’t clear any hidden quests. My best guess about it was that the hidden quest was a one-time deal, or that it had an incredibly long refresh rate. I was banking on the former.

I could have checked with a query, yes, but figuring out things was part of the fun in games… Admittedly, when the game involved my life, I should probably look into things more thoroughly. But I never claimed to be a genius.

It was early in the morning and I’d just finished my run, obtaining my three stat points, when a thought occurred.

What happened to an instant dungeon if I left before I cleared it?

I knew I wouldn’t be able to take on the S-Rank dungeon right away, of course, but I was hoping I could take down a few enemies and get some good levels before I left. But what happened once I left? Would the dungeon go away?

“Query,” I spoke up. “What happens to an instant dungeon if I leave before the dungeon is cleared?”

**[Help]**

**[Query: What happens to an instant dungeon if I leave before the dungeon is cleared?]**

**[Answer: The Dungeon Key will remain in your inventory, and you will be able to re-enter the instant dungeon at any time so long as you use the key in the correct place. If you clear the dungeon, the key will disappear from your inventory except in unique circumstances.]**

“Unique circumstances?” I blinked, before shaking my head. “Questions for later. That’s really good. It means that if things get too tough in the dungeon then I can just leave and come back when I’m stronger…” I was relieved at that. I liked to think I did have _some_ self-preservation instincts. If the dungeon was too hard, I could leave and come back at a later time when I felt I was ready.

I headed back inside from my morning run, heading to my dorm room and changing from my tracksuit into the leather clothing I’d obtained from killing the Minotaurs. On another note, the fur coat I got from the hellhound was very warm. Lovely, considering it was now early November.

Oh right, I forgot to mention I missed Halloween when I was stuck in the hospital. I wasn’t too fussed, Halloween wasn’t my thing anyway. The school didn’t do anything special for it, we only had two school dances. One near Christmas, and one towards the end of the school year. At least, that’s what I’d heard from students that had been here awhile.

I headed to the cafeteria for breakfast, just getting some toast and a bowl of cereal, not that I needed it. Thanks to Grand Caster Solomon’s Blessing, I no longer needed to eat or sleep since the buff made sure I was always healthy throughout my lifetime. No matter what, I’d always be in perfect shape. Even if I spent the rest of my days just lounging around in my bed, I’d still look as ripped as I do right now.

Even so, I buttered my toast and ate that first, before I ate my cereal after and drank the milk down to help keep it nice and cool. I just had water for breakfast, orange juice was a mixed bag in the school. Could get no pulp or could get _all_ the pulp.

A tray slid onto the table in front of me while I was looking away. I looked, only to blink in surprise as I saw Aiz sitting in front of me. “Ai- err, Alice?” I blinked, confused.

“Yes?” She asked before she got a spoonful of cereal and put it into her mouth, chewing it slowly as she stared at me.

“Uh…” I looked around… Yep, we were being stared at. Great, just what he didn’t want. “Is there a _reason_ you’re sitting at my table?”

“I wanted to,” she responded, tilting her head as she looked at me with that blank expression of hers that didn’t seem to change.

I… Didn’t know how to respond to that. I couldn’t exactly just tell her to leave, that would be really rude. But at the same time, she was making me uncomfortable with that blank stare of hers.

“Did you… Have something you wanted to talk about?”

 _Chew. Chew. Swallow._ “Yes.”

“… Is it something we can talk about in public?”

 _Chew. Chew. Swallow_. “No.”

My eye twitched lightly. “How are we going to discuss it?”

“You’ll come with me and we can talk in my dorm room,” she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The feeling of wanting to punch someone who looked so pretty in the face is a feeling I’d only felt towards the popular guys. It was a first for me, wanting to punch the popular girl in the face.

Still, I restrained myself. “Are you going to stare at me all day until I agree?”

“Yes.”

“You know people are going to think you’re in love with me or something.”

“I don’t care, I’m not staying here after Christmas,” she responded to me.

Well… That was a fair point. “What about how people are going to look at me?” I told her. “I don’t want to be popular and talking to you will make people talk to me to wonder why you spoke to me.”

“Ah… Tell them to leave you alone?” She offered, tilting her head.

… Was she always this much of an airhead? I think I liked her when she was more serious, and I didn’t see it.

“… Ugh, fine,” I sighed. “But try to make the conversation quick, okay- actually take as long as you need,” I changed my mind immediately. Rumours were going to sprout no matter what that Aiz and I were in a relationship of sorts.

I did not want to hear the kind of rumours where I went into her room and came out after ten minutes looking tired from the talk, people would misinterpret it to something dirty. I’d rather hear the rumours where I go in and come out several hours later looking tired.

She nodded. “Good, because what I have to say will take a while.”

Those rumours were going to be fucking crazy, I could already tell…

“Just finish your breakfast and we can go,” I sighed, taking a swig from my water bottle. Today was going to be a long day, I could already tell.

Aiz didn’t take too long to finish her breakfast, and soon enough I found her leading me to her dorm room. While it wasn’t against the rules for a boy and girl to be in the same dorm room alone together, the school made it clear to all students that teenage pregnancy was on them if it happened, except in extenuating circumstances.

I wasn’t going to lie, the stares and whispers from everyone were making me uncomfortable. I knew, by the time Monday came, all sorts of rumours would be running around how Aiz and I were dating.

She opened the door to her room and stepped aside. I hesitated, before I walked in and got my first look at a girl’s room.

It was… Pretty average, honestly. When you think of a girl’s room, a young mind generally jumps to strange and perhaps dirty imagery. But Aiz’s room was pretty average. Mostly clean, with a couple clothes tossed around here and there, and some stray bits of rubbish she hadn’t thrown away.

 _‘… Is a girl’s room just the same as a guy’s?’_ I came to a sudden realisation that perhaps I was being sexist in expecting her room to be different. We were all humans, after all… Err, mostly human.

**[You have entered the domain of Aiz Wallenstein. Outside forces will be unable to eavesdrop while you are inside this area.]**

“Have a seat,” Aiz said as she closed the door behind her, gesturing to the only chair without any clothes on it as she sat on her bed, crossing one leg over the other. She was dressed in a pair of jeans, and a simple white shirt with a grey jacket.

I kid you not, she somehow still managed to look very pretty in even that.

I slowly took a seat in the chair after turning it to face her while mentally dismissing the notification. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“I suspect another two demigods are in the school,” she explained, and I tensed subtly. She noticed. “You… Knew?”

I gulped… Time to lie out my ass. “Ever since we had our talk, I’ve been able to… Sense things around me,” he told her. “Like… I know Dr Thorn is a monster. I’ve been able to better sense the presences of those around me, and I noticed something. The two demigods you’re talking about… Nico and Bianca, right?”

She blinked, and I was afraid I went too far. “You’re a sensor?” She asked. “That’s… Rare, even among children of Hecate, to be able to sense the presence of other demigods, and tell when a monster is near… Now I see why you would be so invaluable to Tribus.”

Just the mention of her organisation’s name made me nervous… Tribus, why did I have a strange feeling that was a group I wanted to be as far away from as possible?

“Moving on,” I said quickly. “Why are you telling me?”

“Their presence is strong,” Aiz said. “Very powerful, and unnatural, as I’m sure you noticed. I suspect they are children of Hades, but I have no proof. Because they are so strong, Camp Half-Blood will be sending a satyr to the school.”

“A satyr?” I raked my brain… I vaguely remembered it from Mr Brunner’s Latin class back in Yancy. “Half-man, half-goat?”

She nodded. “They search the world for Demigods when they are no on their eternal quest for the lost god; Pan.”

“Pan…?” I blinked. “Okay, I don’t know that one, but I’ll figure it out later. So, what, satyr’s look for demigods and bring them to camp half-blood?”

Aiz gave me a nod. “If you don’t wish for him to notice your demigod nature, I suggest you do your best to not interact with him,” she said. “It took me a while to deduce you as a demigod, but I found out you were one on the day you were taken. I meant to approach you, but you were gone when I looked.”

I felt uncomfortable at that. Very uncomfortable. I didn’t want to go team up with the Titans, and Tribus didn’t sound like the place I wanted to be.

Some of you may be asking ‘why not?’ The answer is that my mother made it clear to me that power corrupts. All those demigods that were kids of the big three, hyping themselves up, with all that power? I suspected Aiz was one of the few that didn’t seem completely and totally corrupted. Either that, or all of them hid their corruption very well.

Of course, I had no proof of this, so I didn’t mention it. It was just a gut feeling.

“What’ll happen if he does deduce me as a demigod?” I asked.

“Then he will try to bring you to Camp,” she said. “As a child of the big three, you will most likely be killed. And, on the off chance you are not, you will end up as another tool of the gods.”

This really, _really_ , didn’t sound appealing. “How do you know that, if you’ve never been to Camp?” I challenged.

“Because the older members of Tribus told me,” she said.

“How do they know, if they’ve never been to Camp?”

Aiz opened her mouth to answer, before closing it. For the first time in our conversation, she looked a bit unsure. “… Surely, they wouldn’t tell us such a thing, if it wasn’t true…” She sounded like she didn’t believe her own words.

“What exactly is the goal of Tribus?” I asked, now curious.

She once again opened her mouth to answer, before closing it. “… I… Do not know,” she confessed again. “Only the current leader of our group and his personal assistant know our goal. Our leader said he would tell us just what our goal was when the time was right. Other than that, I have no idea.”

“Who are they?”

“The leader’s assistant is called Rolo,” she said, tapping her chin. “And our leader… I cannot say his name.”

I tilted my head. _Cannot_. Not _will not_. “Why?”

“I swore on the Styx.”

Thunder rumbled, and my eyes widened slightly. “Styx… As in, the river that Achilles’ mother dipped him in as a child?”

She nodded. “It is a sacred river that flows through the underworld. To swear upon it is to make a sacred oath that should never be broken.”

“What happens if you break it?” I dared ask.

“Any manner of things could,” she said. “Though Death is the most common, followed by eternal torment.”

I gulped… I was not making any oaths on the Styx. Ever. “Is there anything else we needed to discuss?”

“Yes, Dr Thorn,” she said. “The reason I need to leave before Christmas is because I do not want him to notice me. I have a special item on my person that is, temporarily, greatly reducing my demigod scent. It cannot erase it, but it is greatly reducing it. However, I have reason to believe he plans to target your two friends.”

“So, keep my guard up?” I asked, glancing at the time out the corner of my eye.

Wait, we’d been in here for two hours?

When, how?

Gods, those rumours were going to be out of control…

“Yes,” she nodded. “I can tell he isn’t a normal monster, he’s strong. Very strong. I think even I would have trouble fighting him, so I suggest you keep your guard up around him at all times. And be weary. Now that you know you are a demigod, your own scent has grown more powerful. Satyrs and monsters alike will definitely be able to tell your true nature.”

I wish she’d never told me I was a demigod in that case! She didn’t exactly give me much of a choice in the matter, damn it!

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, standing up. “Can I trust you to keep an eye on Nico and Bianca if I’m not around?”

“I won’t sit by and let a monster hurt a demigod,” she responded. “So, you can.”

“Thank you…” I bowed my head before standing up and heading to the door.

“Wait,” she said.

I paused and looked back.

“Why do you look so… Different after your time in the hospital?”

“… Goodbye, Aiz,” I said, before opening the door and walking out, closing it behind me. I probably looked at tired as I felt right now, which would definitely be adding onto those blasted rumours.

By the time I made it back to the cafeteria, I saw Nico and Bianca waiting for me. “There you are!” Bianca said. “We’ve been waiting for you! Where the heck have you been?”

“… I slept in,” I said lamely.

“I would have done the same, if Bianca didn’t wake me up,” Nico pouted.

“It was for your own good,” she told him. “And you, sleeping in? Yeah, I don’t buy it. Spill, now.”

“… Alice Cymbeline invited me to her room.”

I had never seen someone’s face turn tomato red like that, nor had I received a tongue lashing like the one I received from her in all my life.

I eventually managed to convince her that all we did was talk, but it was clear she was still a bit miffed by it.

… I wondered if she was jealous or something.

**~~Gaming Alone~~**

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 26]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 0]**

**[Title: Goblin Slayer (+1)]**

**[HP: 6,000] [MP: 689]**

**[Strength: 63 (48) +/-] [Vitality: 40 +/-]**

**[Agility: 56 (41) +/-] [Intelligence: 37 +/-]**

**[Sense: 39 +/-]**

**[Remaining Points: 30]**

“It’s time,” I murmured as I once again stood at the gates of Westover Hall, this time the dungeon key in my hand.

After my talk with Aiz, I’d noticed that Dr Thorn had indeed also begun to look at me with that same look he gave Nico and Bianca. It was disturbing and made me feel small. Like I was some kind of prey being a predator, a feeling I didn’t like.

Even so, I kept up with my daily quests, and now it was early Saturday morning, and I was ready, just preparing to distribute my stat points and check over my equipment before I headed into what would no doubt be the toughest dungeon I’d faced yet.

“Thirty points in total…” I murmured, thinking about what to do… “Equip Beast Slayer title. Put seven points in strength, nine points in agility, three points in intelligence, six in vitality, and five in sense.” I finally made my choice and watched as my status changed before my eyes.

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 26]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 0]**

**[Title: Beast Slayer (+1)]**

**[HP: 6,000] [MP: 689]**

**[Strength: 70 (55)] [Vitality: 46]**

**[Agility: 65 (50)] [Intelligence: 40]**

**[Sense: 44]**

**[Remaining Points: 0]**

“Inventory,” I said, looking through my equipment before my eyes came upon the sword I’d obtained from the Goblin King. In the heat of getting the S-Ranked dungeon key, I’d completely forgotten about it. “Check Kalgolb’s Sword.”

**[Item: Kalgolb’s Sword]**

**[Item Class: C]**

**[Attack: +25]**

**[The Sword of Kalgolb, the Goblin King. In his hands, it was merely decorative. In the hands of a truly skilled warrior, however, it is a deadly weapon.]**

**[Effect: Does 50% Extra Damage when dealing hitting a weak point.]**

**[Effect ‘Paralyze’: Attacked Foes have a chance to become unable to move.]**

“Hm, not bad,” I nodded, equipping Kalgolb’s sword alongside Asterios’ Halberd. It was another function I’d discovered with some experimenting. If something was equipped to me, I could call it back to my hand if I ever let it go. It would be very useful if I was ever disarmed.

I took a breath and held up the dungeon key. I’d prepared everything I could. I buffed up my stats, kept the status recovery reward spare from the daily quest just in case things got dicey, and had a hearthstone at the ready.

“I’ve done all I can,” I said. “Now… it’s time to head in.”

I inserted the key into the air, reality warping as it sunk into something invisible. I twisted, and a crackling portal of crimson red energy opened up in front of me.

That instantly told me that this dungeon wouldn’t be easy. The energy the dungeon released was insane, lightning sparking from it sporadically as if the power could barely be contained.

I gulped… Before I steeled my will and stepped through the portal.

_Fire._

My eyes widened as I beheld the interior of the dungeon. Flames were burning all around. The forest, the land, everything but the daunting black palace was alight in flame.

I was in hell. There was no doubt in my mind, this terrifying landscape in front of me was hell. I was daunting, horrifying… But all the same, I pushed those massive gates open and walked forwards.

And as the flames cleared, I saw a huge beast standing in front of the black palace, like a guardian.

**[Hell’s Gatekeeper Cerberus]**

The name was dark red, with the lower half such a dark shade it was almost black.

Six crimson eyes stared at me hatefully, razor sharp teeth bared, and I couldn’t help the gulp that escaped my lips.

Everything inside of me told me I should run away now. Activate the Travel Stone and get out of there before I ended up as a snack for the Cerberus.

_But a voice nagged at me. Whispering to me that I could fight. That I could win and surpass my own expectations of myself._

Asterios’ Halberd and Kalgolb’s sword materialised in my hands.

**[Skill: Sprint has been activated.]**

**[Movement speed will be increased by 30%.]**

**[1 MP will be consumed every minute.]**

**[Title: Beast Slayer’s buff is activating.]**

**[All stats will be increased by 40%.]**

My body became as light as a feather as I dashed towards Cerberus, ducking under its first swipe and slashing the back of its leg with Kalgolb’s Sword.

I didn’t stop there, using my far superior speed to dash all over its body, hacking and slashing with my halberd and sword to deal as much damage to it as quickly as possible.

Yet despite how much I hacked and slash, stabbed and pierced, none of my attacks seemed to do any real damage to it.

I backed up and glared at it.

**[Skill: Bloodlust has been activated.]**

Cerberus seemed to tremble for just a moment, before it threw all three of its heads back and let out a vicious roar so loud I wanted to cover my ears.

**[The enemy’s resistance was too high. The effect was cancelled.]**

_‘It didn’t work?’_ I frowned, readying my weapons again. _‘It should be a pretty good match up for me, considering all my skills… But I must be too weak, none of my attacks are having any effect! To think the difference is this big, despite Beast Slayer’s buff…_

_‘No doubt about it. This dungeon is on a way higher level than the Woods or Asterios’ Lair!’_

I watched as the Cerberus roared and began to charge at me.

**[Hell’s Gatekeeper Cerberus is using Skill: Wrath.]**

**[Wrath will last for 3 minutes.]**

**[Cerberus’s stats will be doubled.]**

“You fucking what!?” I roared in shock as Cerberus’ suddenly sped up its run and was nearing closer.

But I could tell that I was faster, using my speed to jump up to its face, and stabbing it right in the right eye of its middle head. _‘There, that should do some-!’_

**[Cerberus did not feel any pain.]**

My eyes widened, and the right head lunged at me. I tried to back up, only to scream in pain as its teeth pierced through my arm, leaving a huge gaping hole in it.

**_Boom!_ **

I screamed in pain as I lay there, a hole in my arm and my HP dropping rapidly, continuous warnings from the System that my life was in imminent danger. Yes, it was quite obvious thank you!

**[As your health has dropped below 30%, Skill Perseverance will activate.]**

**[Damage taken will be reduced by 50%.]**

Even in a dire situation, the system was still trying to do its best to warn me and make sure I stayed alive. Because, without me, the system would no longer be able to function and would cease.

If I died, the System lost all purpose.

 _‘I can do it!’_ I thought as I watched that right head going for another bite at me. _‘The System was given to me, became part of me, for a reason! Even if I’m just some pawn like Aiz said, just the pawn in some god’s twisted game… Then I will surpass that expectation and make them regret choosing me as their Player!’_

“Accept Status Recovery!”

A blinding light covered my body and I dropped both my weapons, grabbing the canines of Cerberus’s right head and stopping it from eating me like some kind of snack!

I’d invested a lot of points into strength! It was at seventy! Even if the buff only affected my base stats, that still meant my strength was nearing the hundreds!

With a roar, I used all my strength to twist Cerberus’ right head violently.

**_Crack!_ **

I didn’t waste time, Kalgolb’s sword appearing in my hand as I leapt towards the middle head while the right head hung upside-down, broken, slashing both of its eyes out with one mighty swing.

It tilted the middle head back and roared, and I bounced off its snout straight onto the left head, stabbing it straight through the skull and piercing its brain.

Even then, I knew I wasn’t done yet. I called forth my halberd and stabbed both eyes out on Cerberus’ left head as well, making sure to take it out of the equation.

**[Effect ‘Bleed’ has been activated. Cerberus will lose 1% HP every 1 second.]**

I turned my head back to face the middle head, letting out an almighty roar as I leapt back upon it, right on the snout, beginning to repeatedly hack, slash, and stab its head, repeatedly piercing its brain to kill it, make sure it died and stayed dead.

I leapt back as I felt its body moving, ready for the next strike… When its body wobbled, and it fell down… Dead.

**[You levelled up.]**

**[You levelled up.]**

**[You levelled up.]**

**[You have slain Hell’s Gatekeeper Cerberus.]**

**[You have obtained ‘Warden’s Necklace.’]**

**[You have obtained ‘Castle Door Key.’]**

**[You have obtained ‘Fang of Cerberus.]**

“Haa… Haa…” I breathed out as I looked at the dead creature in front of me. “… Thanks to you, I realised something. If I open those gates up right now…” I looked over to them. “… I’ll die. But once I’ve become stronger… I’ll return… And conquer hell…”

I exhaled, relieved the fight was over, before I sat on the corpse and decided to check out my prizes. “Check recent drops.”

**[Item: Warden’s Necklace]**

**[Item Class: A]**

**[Type: Accessory (Necklace)]**

**[A choker warn by Hell’s Gatekeeper Cerberus.]**

**[+20 Agility. +20 Sense.]**

**[Item: Castle Door Key]**

**[Item Class: A]**

**[Type: Key]**

**[A key that open the Demon Castle’s Door. Obtained by killing the Gatekeeper.]**

**[Item: Fang of Cerberus]**

**[Item Class: B]**

**[Type: Dagger]**

**[Attack: +65]**

**[A Dagger made from the Fang of Cerberus. Any who wield it are said to become more powerful.]**

**[Effect ‘Bleed’: Attacked foes lose 1% HP every 1 second.]**

**[Strength +10]**

**[Requirements: 25 Strength, 30 Agility.]**

“Looks like I got some pretty good drops,” I noted. “Equip Warden’s Necklace.” I felt a brief pressure on my neck for a second, before it faded away. I looked down and didn’t see it, but after checking my status it was definitely there. “Huh. It looks like equipped armours and accessories don’t actually show up on my body. That’s cool, I’d look pretty gaudy if I wore them… Equip Fang of Cerberus. Replace Asterios’ Halberd.”

I watched as the Halberd was put back into the inventory and checked out the dagger. The handle was crimson red, and the fang had been flatted into a blade, jagged, incredibly sharp, and pitch black. It almost seemed to absorb the light with how dark it was.

I released a small sigh as I pulled out the Travel Stone. I cast one last look to the gates, before I crushed the stone in my hands.

**[Travel Stone has been activated. Teleporting Player to Dungeon’s Entrance.]**

I had a very brief sense of vertigo as I ended up back just outside the gates of Westover Hall. I held my head and groaned as I now felt a bit dizzy.

“Ugh… Travel Stone is definitely the item with the biggest drawback, or maybe it was just because it was the first time I used it…” I murmured. “Whatever the case, do not want to use another if I can help it…”

I slipped through the gates no problem and made my way back into the school. The fight had taken longer than I’d thought it had. In the heat of the moment it had felt so short, but the fight had taken over an hour.

I guess that was the difference between an S-Ranked boss and an E or D-Ranked one.

I made my way back to my dorm room, intending to get another hour or so of sleep before I went to the cafeteria for breakfast.

I was so absorbed in getting some sleep and the relief of beating the boss, that I never noticed Aiz Wallenstein had been watching me from the window. Both when I’d vanished, and when I’d re-appeared.

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 29]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 0]**

**[Title: Beast Slayer (+1)]**

**[HP: 7,410] [MP: 836]**

**[Strength: 83 (58)] [Vitality: 49]**

**[Agility: 88 (53)] [Intelligence: 43]**

**[Sense: 67 (47)]**

* * *

**Word Count: 4,787**

**Publish Date: 15th January 2020**


	7. VII: It All Begins

It took until the first week of December for the satyr that Aiz had mentioned to me to show up. And, to my surprise, I knew the satyr in question.

Grover Underwood.

He was a friend of mine from back at Yancy, my dormmate in fact. He kind of just vanished right before the end of the school year, along with Mr Brunner, and some Latin teacher I’d never seen before replaced him.

He didn’t look like he’d changed all that much. He still had his crutches, and had definitely grown a bit… And he also had a goatee. Maybe it was a satyr thing, nobody seemed to think it was weird that he had it.

What I found strange was that he was completely avoiding me. To be fair, I didn’t exactly try to approach him, but I knew he recognised me based on his expression when he first lay eyes on me on class. But even so, he acted like he’d never seen me before.

Why?

Perhaps he didn’t realise I was a demigod, so he didn’t want to get me involved?

No, wait… Why was he back at Yancy in the first place, now that I thought about it? He then vanished, and then people began to act like he’d never existed…

Did satyrs have some kind of illusion spell, or a spell to re-write people’s memories into believing they never existed? Or was it just a spell that all monsters, satyrs, and various other creatures knew in order to stay hidden? It would certainly explain why no news of any monsters ever appeared on the television.

I was slowly starting to put pieces together in my mind about why Grover had been back at Yancy, and perhaps even why he’d been my friend… If he was ever my friend to begin with.

He was a satyr, and Aiz had said Satyrs looked for demigods. Which meant Grover had been at Yancy for me, no doubt to try and take me to Camp Half-Blood. But then, towards the end of the year, he’d vanished and used that memory re-write trick to make people think he was never real.

Why though? Why hadn’t he escorted me to Camp Half-Blood? Did he only suspect I was a demigod, but eventually determined I couldn’t be so he left?

Or had there been something else? A situation that had forcefully dragged him away from Yancy and back to the camp?

Whatever the case, Grover was avoiding me. That was his choice, I was happy to spend my time with Nico and Bianca.

I did notice something about Dr Thorn, however.

Firstly, his name was now orange as opposed to the red it had been before. And secondly, he’d been looming around Nico, Bianca, and I far more than before. I noticed several times Grover made to approach us, specifically Nico and Bianca since his gaze was fixed on them, but Dr Thorn seemed to appear out of nowhere and get between them.

There was no doubt in my mind that Thorn was going to be making his move soon to abduct Nico, Bianca, and I. Probably take us to the titan army and leave us with the choice to join or die trying to fight our way out.

There wasn’t much I could do to prepare besides doing my daily quest, and occasionally diving into the Westover Woods… Which was strange, considering we were in Bar Harbor. Shouldn’t they be called the Bar Harbor Woods?

I was nit-picking, sue me. 

I didn’t gain any levels from diving into the dungeon, but I did manage to pick up various drops from enemies I sold to the store. The weapons were worth a semi-decent chunk of gold, and some of the materials were worth a lot too.

I only kept the first of Kalgolb’s swords that I obtained after killing him and sold the rest. My gold wasn’t exactly the highest, but I’d recently hit a hundred-thousand gold. So, I was now able to stock up on the highest grade of potion when needed.

Before I knew it, it was the day of the school dance before we broke up for the Winter Break, Saturday the fifteenth. I’d done the daily quest every single day leading up to it and…

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 29]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 0]**

**[Title: Beast Slayer (+1)]**

**[HP: 7,410] [MP: 836]**

**[Strength: 83 (58) +/-] [Vitality: 49 +/-]**

**[Agility: 88 (53) +/-] [Intelligence: 43 +/-]**

**[Sense: (67) 47 +/-]**

**[Remaining Points: 126]**

I hadn’t spent any of the points I’d obtained, choosing to save them for when I felt I needed them, and holy hell did I have a lot. If I invested all of them into one stat, I’d probably never need to invest in that stat again. Not that I planned to, I was just saying I could.

I was dressed in my usual leather clothing, it had become a pretty staple part of my outfit and had my hellhound fur jacket. I met up with Nico and Bianca outside, and we headed into the ballroom for the dance.

Though to be fair, we didn’t dance very much.

Instead we just sat around a table while Nico shuffled his Mythomagic cards- a nervous tic he had- and talked.

“So,” Bianca said. “We’re not going to dance?”

“We can if you want,” I offered Bianca, who’s cheeks turned red as she rapidly looked away from me. “I’ll take that as a no,” I chuckled.

“Well why don’t you go dance with Alice?” She grumbled… She was still holding a grudge over me going to Aiz’s room, despite the fact it happened over a month ago.

Speaking of that, the rumours that followed my little talk with Aiz were legendary. Apparently, because I’d been in the room with her for a couple hours, I was apparently some kind of ‘stud’ who girl’s would be lucky to share the bed with.

It didn’t help that when Aiz was asked ‘how was he,’ she just tilted her head and said, ‘he was good.’ I suspect she’d completely misunderstood the question, but that sent the rumour mill going like crazy.

I received lots of pats on the back from various guys who congratulated me on bagging a girl like Aiz. I honestly didn’t even know how to respond to that, and often just ended up covering my face in embarrassment.

“Because I’m not interested in her,” I told Bianca. “She’s a nice girl, but she’s…” Part of an organisation that may or may not be a bit sketchy and or evil. “Difficult to deal with. Just talking to her gave me a headache.”

Bianca, if my eyes weren’t deceiving me, looked a bit pleased as I said that. But then she looked towards the entrance to the ballroom and frowned. “Hey, who are those people with Grover?” She asked, prompting me to look as well.

Indeed, there were people with Grover that were definitely not students at the school, I’d never seen them before or even caught a glimpse. I would have known, the two girls with Grover were quite unique and pretty. They’d have definitely been popular if they were students.

The girl on his left was a pretty blonde with curly hair, the kind of curly hair you’d picture a princess from a story having, with grey eyes that seemed to storm. She looked around the area, seemingly calculating… Those eyes spoke volumes about the intelligence she had. She wore jeans, and a warm looking coat that hid her shirt.

The girl on his right was much more punk looking with short black hair and dressed in a t-shirt that said ‘death to barbie’ with a black coat and matching jeans, along with combat boots. She had quite an attractive face, but what caught my attention were her eyes.

A clear blue, reminiscent of the sky on a day without clouds.

Even from here, I could feel their presence. The wind and lightning coiling around the girl with black hair, and I could _feel_ the intelligence coming off of the girl with blonde hair.

_‘First one is a daughter of Zeus, just like Aiz…’_ I concluded. _‘But the blonde… I don’t know, the only Goddess I have a guess about is Athena. But she’s a maiden goddess, so that makes no sense.’_

“I don’t know,” I told Bianca. “And, to be perfectly honest, I don’t really care either. Not to sound rude, which that does, but it’s not really our business. Maybe they’re just his friends and he’s showing them around. Whatever the case, not our problem.”

I wished that I believed my own words, but thankfully both Bianca and Nico seemed to nod in agreement.

We continued to sit there, just talking, for quite a while, until Doctor Thorn came up to us and I felt my body tense. “Mr and Miss di Angelo, Mister Jackson,” he said. “I would like to see you all outside.”

“Did we do something wrong, sir?” I asked, hoping I didn’t look as tense as I felt.

“As a matter of fact, Jackson, yes…” He hissed, and I felt my body tense. It seemed Thorn was done hiding. “Now, you three are going to follow me… _Or else._ ”

I gulped, Nico and Bianca looked nervous… I could only nod. I couldn’t fight him in here, I didn’t want normal people to get involved in this. Plus, with how close Nico and Bianca were, they might get hurt if I tried to do anything now. Better not risk it.

We got up, and Dr Thorn began to shove us towards the exit, Bianca’s cap falling off in the process, and causing Nico to drop some of his trading cards. Thinking quickly, knowing how much Nico loved the cards, I stored them in my inventory as he steered us. The cards were behind us, but the screen popped up to show they were there. I was a bit relieved at that.

I’d deliberately left Bianca’s hat as a hint for the demigods that something was wrong, or even Aiz. Hopefully they’d notice, they were going to be my ticket to the Camp.

I also knew I didn’t have a lot of time, so it was time to invest my stats. “Status…” I whispered quietly, bringing up the menu. I couldn’t think of which stat I needed more, so I went for balance instead. “Invest twenty-five points into all stats and invest one additional point in sense.”

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 29]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 0]**

**[Title: Beast Slayer (+1)]**

**[HP: 7,410] [MP: 836]**

**[Strength: 108 (83)] [Vitality: 74]**

**[Agility: 113 (78)] [Intelligence: 68]**

**[Sense: 93 (73)]**

That put all of my base stats well above fifty, and two of them nearing one-hundred. Once I got to a bit more of an open area, Thorn wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight against me.

“Oh yes…” Thorn said once we were away from the gym. “Just so you don’t get any ideas…”

_Whoosh!_

I gasped in pain and held my arm as a spike imbedded itself into my shoulder. And by the gods, it hurt!

**[A harmful substance has been detected.]**

**[Grand Caster Solomon’s Blessing shall cure you of the harmful substance.]**

**[3… 2… 1… The harmful substance has been eliminated.]**

“Now, you will come with me,” he said, glaring at the three of us. “Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw.”

I hissed in mock pain, it had faded quickly, as we began to walk.

I was going to kill him.

I was going to rip that tail off of his body, tear his head off, and shove it up his ass.

I slowed down deliberately, just to confirm something.

“What are you doing, Jackson?” Thorn hissed at me, still messing up the _J_ in my name thanks to his accent.

“It’s my shoulder,” I said, doing my best to sound miserable. Good thing I was acing my drama class. “It burns.”

“Bah! My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Walk!”

Thorn herded us outside, and I was actually relieved for it. He’d just given me more room to work with. I was fast, and I was strong. If I activated sprint, my speed would be faster than Thorn would be able to keep up with. I’d get Nico and Bianca out of the way and then, using his moment of shock, I would get behind him and cut off his tail with Kalgolb’s sword.

But then he led us into the woods, and I just felt my grin grow wider. He’d now provided me with cover, a place to hide Nico and Bianca, and put all my focus on fighting him.

The notification to enter the Dungeon popped up, but I rejected it silently. It would be very strange if I suddenly disappeared with both Nico and Bianca, and I didn’t want to expose them to hellhounds and goblins.

“There is a clearing ahead,” Thorn finally said. “We shall summon your ride.”

“What ride?” Bianca demanded. “Where are you taking us?”

“Silence, you insufferable girl!”

“Don’t talk to my sister that way!” Nico said, trying to sound brave, but I could tell he was trembling in fear. His voice was quivering.

Dr Thorn made a growling sound that didn’t sit right with me, it was showing off that he wasn’t human. I saw Nico and Bianca tensing, looking more afraid than ever.

“Halt.”

The woods opened up. We’d reached a cliff overlooking the sea… At least, I think it was. As a child of Poseidon, I did have a link to the sea. I hadn’t been able to control water, at last I didn’t _think_ I was able to… Then again, I very well could have been. I was certain I’d made a blood vortex that ripped all the monsters apart back at that alter where they’d tried to raise that sleepy woman.

I’d have to experiment a bit later to see if I could control water.

Dr Thorn pushed us towards the edge of the cliff. I stumbled, had to seem weak right now, and Bianca caught me.

“Thanks…” I murmured.

“What _is_ he?” She whispered to me. “How do we fight him?”

“I’m scared…” Nico added on, fiddling with one of his statues.

“I need you both to trust me,” I whispered. “Hold onto my arms, and do not let go no matter what.”

“Stop talking!” Thorn snapped. “Face me!”

We turned.

His eyes glittered hungrily as he stared at us. He pulled something from under his coat. A phone, and his hand was going towards a button on it.

I felt Nico and Bianca hold onto my arms tightly, and I held onto them in turn.

Go time.

**[Skill: Sprint has activated.]**

Suddenly, from in front of Thorn, the three of us blurred out of existence and we were suddenly behind Thorn at a very safe distance. Nico and Bianca looked disorientated from the speed, but my focus was on Thorn as I shook their hands off my arms.

He turned to face us, eyes wide with shock as his hand was mere centimetres from the button. “How…?”

Kalgolb’s sword appeared in my hand and I vanished in a blur again, slashing downwards and cutting off his, watching it fall to the ground with a dull thud from the snow as it writhed around before turning to dust.

Thorn roared in pain, dropping the phone to the ground, before he turned to me with fury in his eyes. I had a feeling he was no longer interested in sending me to join the titan army. “Jackson!” He roared, charging straight at me.

I just smirked at him and vanished in another blur, appearing a good distance behind him. He almost ran off the cliff but managed to stop himself. He turned back to me with a hateful glare.

“Might as well give up now, Manticore,” I told him, satisfied as his eyes widened in shock. “Yeah, I know what you are. And I know about your plans. You want to take us to the titan army, to have us become servants of Kronos, right?”

“How do you know…?” He asked, sounding shocked. “You… Were you a demigod sent by Camp Half-Blood to observe me!? But that’s impossible, they always send satyrs! Who are you, boy!?”

“I’m nobody special,” I said as the Fang of Cerberus appeared in my other hand. “Just an average demigod, who kicks the ass of monsters like you.”

“You arrogant little shit!” Thorn roared. “You think you can win!? The great stirring of monsters is underway! The worst of them, the most powerful, are waking! You cannot defeat us all! The General will see that you are defeated!”

“You’ll be dead before that time comes,” I responded, readying my weapons.

“I will kill you,” Thorn growled as he stepped forwards. And then his body began to morph. The human face was still there, but suddenly he took on the appearance of a huge lion. I imagine his tail would have been there had I not cut it off too.

_“Slowly_ ,” he continued. “I will savour every moment as I rip you limb from limb, I will watch with glee as your friends cry and lose hope! And then I shall kill them as well, just because I can!”

My body froze for a moment… And then I saw red.

**[Skill: Bloodlust was activated.]**

**[Target’s stats dropped by 50% for 1 minute.]**

“Mistake…” I hissed out, watching as Thorn trembled in fear before me as the bloodlust skill took effect. _“Never. Threaten. My. Friends.”_

I let out a hateful roar as I vanished from Thorn’s sights and stabbed his arms with my two weapons, taking joy in hearing him roar in pain from it. Even with his name orange, my stats were too high for him to take on now. Even if his name had been red, he would have stood no chance.

He tried to swing at me, but I delivered a firm kick to his testicles. He let out a squeal of pain, his voice rising several octaves, as he dropped to his knees in front of me. I tugged my sword out of his arm as it hung limp at the side. I stabbed it into the ground, before I grabbed his jaw and made him look up at me.

“What… Are… You…?” Thorn asked, terrified… Had my bloodlust made him see something? Whatever happened, he certainly didn’t think that I was just a demigod anymore.

“Someone beyond you,” I told him. “I am stronger than you. And I will continue to get even stronger… Until I won’t need any weapons to kill you.”

I stabbed him through the head with the Fang of Cerberus, watching his body slump before it exploded into golden dust, leaving only a fang behind.

**[You levelled up.]**

**[You have obtained ‘Manticore Fang.’]**

I flicked the gold dust off my blade, quickly making my way back to Nico and Bianca as I unequipped my weapons. “Are the two of you okay?” I asked with concern.

“I… You just… How did…” Bianca stumbled over her words, staring at me with shock and awe in her eyes.

“That was so cool!” Nico said, eyes shining as he stared at me. “Where did you get those weapons!? What exactly was Dr Thorn!? Can you do anything else!? How did you move so fast-!?”

“Woah, easy Nico!” I laughed lightly. “I promise, I’ll explain everything really soon. But for now, we should get out of here and-!”

“Hold it right there!” A voice called from behind as I saw Grover and his two female friends come charging out of the woods. Based on the fact the girl with black hair was leading the charge, I assumed she was the one who spoke. “Where are you taking them?”

“… To meet with you,” I said slowly, watching as all three recoiled. “Honestly, thank you for making my job easier. I was wondering how on Earth the three of us would be getting a ride to camp.”

“Getting a ride to camp- you know about Camp!?” Grover exclaimed in shock.

“Yeah. No thanks to you, Grover,” I narrowed my eyes at him. “I haven’t seen you since you disappeared at the end of the school year at Yancy academy.”

Grover’s eyes widened. “You… Remember?”

“So, I was right, you did do something to change people’s memories!” I exclaimed. “I suspected as much, but I wondered why I remembered! Now it makes sense, it just didn’t work on me for some reason. Not that I’m going to complain, I prefer to have my memories right where they are, thank you very much.”

“Grover, who is this?” The blonde girl asked.

“He’s… A friend from Yancy, Annabeth,” he said. “Remember when Chiron had to make that house call? Well, Percy is the one it was made for. But the Summer Solstice deadline was fast approaching, and nothing seemed to be happening around Percy, he did smell so repulsively human… So, we fixed everyone’s memories and left. But there’s no doubt in my mind, he’s a demigod. A powerful one.”

“I feel so flattered that I reached your expectations,” I said flatly, standing in front of Nico and Bianca protectively. “Look, I just need you to take us all to Camp. I want Nico and Bianca to be safe and, considering a- cover Nico’s ears Bianca- fucking _manticore_ just attacked us, I think we need to head there presto.”

“A manticore?” The blonde- Annabeth, Grover had said her name was- looked shocked. “How did you kill it? I don’t see a weapon on you.”

“What makes you think I’d need a weapon?” I said. “If you want proof, then just look at the gold dust,” I nodded my head in the direction of where Thorn had been, causing them all to look over.

They noticed the gold dust, and just like that their disbelief was silenced.

“Who are you?” The black-haired girl asked. “Who’s your godly parent?”

“Percy Jackson, and no idea,” I shrugged. “Just know I’m a demigod, and that Greek monsters are real. Besides that, I don’t know much about anything else. I only know about the camp because another demigod told me about it and suggested I should head there this summer. It seems I’ll be going a bit earlier.”

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Bianca asked, looking at me.

I turned and knelt. “Bianca, Nico…” He said. “All those myths about Greek Mythology? Those are real, including demigods. The three of us-“ I gestured “- Are the kids of Greek Gods. I don’t know which, but I can tell we’re demigods. I can sense it.”

“Sense it?” Annabeth spoke up, and I noticed a Yankees cap in her hand. “You mean… You can feel the presence of demigods. I’ve never heard of something like that.”

“I’m unique,” I told her, not revealing any more than that. “Are you gonna take us to the camp? Because I, quite frankly, would like some proper explanations to all this stuff.”

“Hold up!” Bianca said. “Percy, you can’t be serious about this-!”

“Bianca, you know I wouldn’t lie about something as serious as this,” I told her. “You saw the manticore, you heard his talk. You _know_ what I’m saying is true.”

She hesitated and bit her lip. Nico, on the other hand, was excited. “That’s so cool! Do we have stats!? How much attack do I have!? Do I have any cool-!?”

“This isn’t a game, Nico!” Bianca snapped.

_‘Well, not for you…’_ I thought.

“Right, come on then,” the black-haired girl spoke up. “I’m Thalia, daughter of Zeus-“

_‘Just like I thought.’_

“- We’ll lead you back to camp. Just stick with us, and we should be fine-!”

“I think not, Thalia Grace,” a strong voice came from the forest.

I quickly whirled around, ready to summon my weapons to fight again… Only to freeze at the name I saw.

**[Goddess of the Moon and Hunt – Artemis]**

The name hung over a girl that couldn’t have been older than Bianca, looking only twelve or so years old, with auburn hair and silver eyes while dressed in silver clothing.

She was flanked by girls dressed in similar clothing, all different ages but none seemed to be older than fourteen or fifteen. A girl behind Artemis’ right was the only one wearing a tiara, perhaps a sign of leadership when Artemis wasn’t present?

But what caught my attention was the colour of her name.

Solid. Black.

“The hunters of Artemis!” Grover exclaimed, sounding awed and… Love struck?

What, did he love Artemis or something? I wished him luck, girl was a maiden goddess for a damn reason! Plus, considering her name was a solid black, she’d probably snap him like a gods damned toothpick if he did manage to get lucky!

Annabeth dropped her cap on the ground from shock, quickly rushing forwards and bowing as Grover did the same.

Thalia did the same and, though I was incredibly reluctant, I did so as well, making Nico and Bianca do the same. “Do not question it,” I whispered. “This isn’t someone we want to anger.”

They gulped silently and stayed bowed down.

“You may rise, demigods,” Artemis said, and all of us slowly rose. “We came here hunting the manticore. Where is it?”

“Dead,” Annabeth responded, jutting a thumb at me. “He killed it.”

Artemis’ gaze locked onto me, and I tensed. I felt like I was being judged, and to be fair I probably was. Artemis was a Goddess, and she was probably judging me, measuring my worth.

“Who are you, boy?” She finally asked me. “Who is your sire?”

“Percy Jackson,” I responded. “I’ve never been sent any kind of sign by my godly parent.” I didn’t dare lie in front of the goddess. Instead, I just didn’t tell the entire truth.

Artemis frowned, before she nodded. “Zoe, set up camp,” she said. “We’ve burdened these children enough with our presence. Retrieve our guests’ belongings from the school.”

“Yes, my lady,” the girl wearing the tiara responded.

“Bianca di Angelo,” I tensed slightly, not liking that Artemis knew Bianca’s name. “Come with me. I would like to speak with you.”

“What about me?” Nico asked.

Artemis stared at Nico, considering him. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. While Artemis was focused on Nico, I mouthed something to Bianca. _Do. Not. Trust. Her._

She hesitated, before nodding as Artemis suggested he could teach Grover how to play Mythomagic. Grover practically jumped up and dragged Nico away to learn.

Artemis led Bianca away, who looked nervous, and the hunters began to set up camp. Zoe gave Thalia a dark look, before stalking away to fulfil Artemis’ orders.

“The nerve of those Hunters!” Thalia growled. “They think they’re so… Argh!”

“Thalia, calm down,” Annabeth said, rubbing Thalia’s shoulder.

While she calmed her friend, I moved towards her yankees cap and picked it up to give back to her.

But when I picked it up, I was surprised by the text box that appeared in front of me.

**[You have picked up an item with a special enchantment on it.]**

**[Would you like to copy the enchantment as a skill?]**

“… Yes?” I said quietly, feeling a bit awkward.

**[You have obtained the Active Skill: Stealth.]**

I quickly opened up my skill menu to check on it.

**[Stealth Lv. 1]**

**[The art of hiding from the eyes of others. You blend so seamlessly into your surroundings, you turn invisible.]**

**[Cost: 200MP. Your appearance and all traces of you will be hidden instantly.]**

**[10 Mana will be consumed every second.]**

Wow, this game was really pushing me to become some sort of assassin huh, wasn’t it? Still, I wasn’t complaining. It was an incredibly useful skill, that would definitely help me in clearing through dungeons in the future. After all, how can the enemy hit me if they can’t see me?

I walked over to Annabeth and lifted her cap. “You dropped this,” I told her.

She looked at me. “Oh, thank you,” she said as she took it back from me. She stuffed it back into her pocket and returned her attention to Thalia, trying to keep her calm.

I moved away from them and sat down on one of the tree stumps, thinking.

Dr Thorn was dead.

My time at Westover Hall was definitely going to be over if I wasn’t mistaken.

And, to top it all off, I met a Goddess who definitely did not seem to like me all that much.

“If this is how it all begins, I really don’t think I want to see the ending,” I murmured, looking back in the direction of the school.

I couldn’t help but wonder if Aiz would take this to mean I was joining Camp Half-Blood and not Tribus?

Somehow, I didn’t mind if she took it that way.

**[Status]**

**[Name: Perseus (Percy) Jackson] [Level: 30]**

**[Job: None] [Fatigue: 0]**

**[Title: Beast Slayer (+1)]**

**[HP: 8,150] [MP: 918]**

**[Strength: 109 (84)] [Vitality: 75]**

**[Agility: 114 (79)] [Intelligence: 69]**

**[Sense: 94 (74)]**

* * *

**Word Count: 4,897**

**Publish Date: 15th January 2020**


	8. VIII: Claimed

It, quite suddenly, occurred to me that I still had the spike in my shoulder from Thorn’s little attack to keep Nico, Bianca, and myself obedient. It didn’t hurt since Solomon’s Blessing cured me of the poison, but now it was kind of just in my arm and I didn’t like that.

So, without even really thinking about it, I grabbed the spike and tugged it out.

**_Squelch!_ **

I wasn’t prepared for the wet sound it made as my blood briefly shot out of my arm, causing Thalia and Annabeth to turn to me. Looks of horror quickly overcame them.

“Are you crazy!?” Thalia yelled as she ran over. “Annabeth, ambrosia and nectar!”

“I’m on it!” Annabeth said as she put her bag down and began to take out some cubes and a flask.

“Calm down, I’m fine,” I told them.

“You are not!” Thalia snapped. “You’re going delusional from the blood loss! We need to get you some ambrosia and nectar stat, or else…” She trailed off as she noticed something.

Annabeth rushed over with the cubes and flask, before she also froze as she saw just what Thalia saw.

The fact that blood was no longer squirting from my arm. Instead, they watched as the wound closed right before their eyes without any issue, and then watched as my clothing repaired itself and cleaned itself of any blood.

It was like I’d never been injured.

“How in the Hades…?” Thalia whispered in shock. “Take off your jacket.”

“Are you kidding? It’s freezing!” I told her.

“Do it!”

I grumbled but decided against murmuring anything rude and slipped off my jacket. Just enough to reveal the shoulder that had been stabbed with the spike.

She marched forwards and tugged at my sleeve, revealing not even a scar remained from Thorn’s spike. She stepped back and stared at my face. “How did you do that?” She demanded. “I’ve never seen or heard of anyone healing that fast without ambrosia or nectar.”

“Let’s just say a mage blessed me and leave it at that,” I responded, shrugging.

“You won’t tell us?” Annabeth frowned, clearly disproving. It was evident to me she was the type of girl who didn’t like unanswered questions and would definitely roast me over a hot fire if it made me talk.

“I swore not to,” I responded, and suddenly both nodded in understanding. I was going to have to remember that for the future. Just saying ‘I swore not to’ and they immediately thought I swore on the Styx.

I felt bad about lying, but who the hell knew it was so easy!?

“Damn shame, we could really use that,” Thalia murmured. “But if you swore, I guess it can’t be helped. Your name was Percy, right? Is that short for anything?”

“Yeah,” I sighed. I hated my first name. “It means Perseus.”

“The Destroyer,” Annabeth spoke up. “He’s the only Greek Hero who got a happy ending.”

“My mom gave it to me,” I told her. “I guess she was hoping I’d end up with a happy ending too… At least, I think so. I’m not entirely sure if she’s aware of me being a demigod, and I don’t want to get her involved in it if I can help it. I owe too much to her to worry her like that.”

“Can you do anything else?” Thalia asked. “Besides the absurd healing?”

“Who knows?” I shrugged. “I’m not the kind of person to give away everything I can do to two people I literally just met… Err, no offence.”

“None taken, it’s fair,” Thalia begrudgingly admitted. It seemed she really wanted to know but was at least polite enough to not be a bitch about it.

Annabeth grumbled something about wanted to know more, but other than that she also stayed quiet.

Well, at least these two could respect his privacy.

“Percy!” Nico called as he ran over. “Can I see the sword and dagger you were using to fight Dr Thorn?”

“You use a sword?” Thalia asked.

“You use a dagger?” Annabeth asked at the exact same time.

“Yes,” I answered all of their questions at once. In my hands, Kalgolb’s Sword and the Fang of Cerberus formed in my hands.

I saw Annabeth and Thalia jump back in shock, and Nico’s eyes widened in awe as he looked at them. “What are they made of?”

“This one,” I lifted the sword. “I have no idea. I found it, and it worked well enough on monsters, so I stuck with it. My dagger, on the other hand, is made from the fang of a Cerberus.”

“That dagger is made from Cerberus’s fang!?” Annabeth exclaimed. “As in, the guardian of the underworld? _That_ Cerberus?”

“Do you know any other Cerberus?” I asked, noting she seemed to believe there was only one. “Worked my ass off killing that thing when it attacked me. Took the fang to a friend of mine, and he forged it into this dagger. It’s definitely my favourite weapon right now.”

“What other weapons do you have?” Nico asked with excitement.

“I have a couple axes, a halberd, few more swords, a mace or two, and so on,” I waved it off.

“Why do you have so much weaponry!?” Thalia asked incredulously. “And where do you keep it all!?”

I just held a finger to my lips. “That, dear lady, is a secret. Like I said, I can’t just reveal everything to you, can I?”

Thalia blushed, possibly at being called ‘dear lady,’ or maybe from anger of being called it. Either way, she was about to snap at me, but was cut off from it when Zoe walked over.

“Percy Jackson.”

I looked over at her. I got a better look at her now and had to admit she was quite pretty. She had dark brown eyes, and a slightly upturned nose. With her silver circlet and proud expression, you couldn’t be blamed in mistaking her for royalty.

“Yes?” I said politely.

Despite the fact I’d been polite, she just studied me like I’d committed some grave offence just by existing.

I decided I didn’t like her.

“Come with me,” she said. “Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee.”

She turned around, and I just mouthed the word ‘thee’ with a puzzled look on my face as I followed.

This was the twenty-first century, who the fuck used the word ‘thee’ anymore!?

Zoe led me to the last tent, which looked just like every other god damned tent in the fucking camp and waved me inside. Bianca was sitting next to Artemis, and she looked incredibly relieved upon seeing me.

I gave a brief glance to the tent’s interior. It was warm, comfortable even. Silk rugs and pillows, a golden brazier fire in the centre, the goddess’s bow sitting behind her on a display stand. I could see various rugs and pelts from animals all around, and a deer was on Artemis’s other side, resting its head on her lap.

“Join us, Percy Jackson,” she said to me.

 _‘You didn’t exactly leave me a choice in the matter,’_ I thought with annoyance, but sat across her on the tent floor. She studied me, almost as if she were judging me for something.

“Does my age surprise you?”

“Not even at all,” I told her, sounding bored. “Considering there’s a Norse myth of Loki turning into a mare and then getting mating with another horse, it stands to reason you can also change your appearance at will.”

Artemis blinked in surprise but nodded at my logic, though she looked weary the instant I mentioned Loki… That instantly drew me to a conclusion I’d realised after fighting the goblins. Other Pantheons existed. And it seemed the gods didn’t like talking about it.

“You aren’t going to ask why I choose to be so young?”

“Nope,” I told her, as I honestly couldn’t care less. I was pretty sure I should be grovelling at her feet and being polite… But honestly, I really didn’t care. I never asked for her to show up, and I didn’t exactly like Artemis very much.

 _Especially_ once I read the myth regarding Kallisto.

Zoe sat down on Artemis’ right, glaring at me. “You will speak to my goddess with respect, boy.”

“I never asked for her to show up,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “With all due respect, nothing would have changed had you not shown up. I still would have killed the Manticore, the other demigods would have still shown up. The only thing your arrival changed was the fact that we aren’t on our way to camp right now.”

Zoe recoiled visibly at my words, before a furious look came onto her face and she opened her mouth to speak.

“And,” I continued. “I’ve read various myths about you, Artemis. And to be quite frank, all of them make me not care for you very much.”

I saw Artemis’ eyes narrow at me, and I felt like an invisible pressure came onto my shoulders. “Oh? And which myth would that be, _boy_?”

I really shouldn’t have responded, but my own eyes narrowed at her. “Kallisto.”

The pressure faded, and Artemis’s eyes widened in shock, as did Zoe’s.

“Zeus approached her as you and then, using her trust of you, raped her without caring how you felt.,” I said. “And you turned a blind eye to it when you found out, instead punishing Kallisto despite the fact _she_ was the one that had been forced upon. She wasn’t given any choice in breaking her oath of maidenhood, it was taken from her. And what did you do, despite knowing she’d been raped?”

Artemis remained silent.

I didn’t need to continue the story. She’d turned a blind eye to what Zeus had done and banished her from her hunting group and then turned her into a bear for someone else to hunt.

I saw Bianca looking at Artemis with horror in her eyes, and Zoe looked particularly sullen as I brought up this story. I didn’t why, but I got the feeling that perhaps Zoe was quite old as well. Perhaps she had been there upon finding out what Zeus had done.

“Why did you call me here?” I finally asked.

Artemis was silent for quite awhile before she spoke up. “The manticore,” she said. “We were hunting it because we believed it had information. Did he tell you anything?”

“Something about a great stirring of monsters and a general,” I said, noticing how Zoe paled when I mentioned the general. Interesting. “He also mentioned something about the worst monsters, the most powerful, were starting to wake up. But that’s all he mentioned.”

“Nothing else?”

“Nothing else,” I confirmed. “He might have told me more, but then he threatened Nico and Bianca. So, I killed him for pissing me off.”

Artemis nodded, closing her eyes. “The signs. I’ve been as ignorant as my father in this matter, I’ve been too slow to see them. Or perhaps I didn’t want to. There is a powerful monster I must hunt.”

Zoe looked at her, looking somewhat afraid, but nodded. “We will leave right away, my lady.”

“No, Zoe. I must do this alone.”

“But, Artemis-!”

"This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."

“As… As you wish, my lady.”

Artemis nodded and turned to look back at me. “Before I leave, Percy Jackson, I have a small task for you.”

 _‘Oh joy…’_ I thought to myself. “What is it?”

“I want you to escort my Hunters to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there safely until I return.”

“What!?” Zoe exclaimed. “But, Artemis, we hate it there! The last time we stayed there-!”

“I hate to cut you off,” I interjected. “But why entrust _me_ with this? I’m not a camper, yet anyway. You don’t know me, you don’t know you can trust me, so why me? Why not Thalia or Annabeth, since you trust young maidens?”

“… I do not know,” Artemis frowned. “You are rude, you say what you want, and you are even willing to open up millennia old wounds of mine. By all means I should smite you. But there is something different about you. I cannot tell what it is, but there is something different about your presence compared to every other demigod I have met. Never before I have I sensed this presence, and I wonder why one such as you possesses it. It is strange, and yet… I feel like I can trust you to see this through.”

I did my best to look calm, but internally I freaked out a bit. She must have been talking about the System. Somehow, she could sense it in some form or another. But, luckily, she didn’t seem to know exactly what it was. Good, I didn’t want anyone finding out about the System if I could help it.

Better to distract her quickly before she started digging too deeply though. “Alright,” I nodded. “I’ll make sure your hunters are escorted safely to Camp, though they probably don’t need my help.”

“Thank you,” she said. “And now, there is one last decision to make…” Artemis turned to Bianca. “Have you made up your mind, girl?”

“Yes,” Bianca nodded confidently.

“Wait…” I frowned, not liking where this was going. _“What_ choice?”

“She… She invited me to join the hunt,” Bianca said.

“… Pardon?” I blinked, not quite comprehending what she said. “What exactly are you getting out of this deal?”

“To start,” Zoe spoke up. “Immortality.”

“… Excuse you and your entire race?” I said, turning my head to look at Artemis.

Artemis blinked. It seemed she’d never heard that expression before. “She’s telling the truth,” Artemis nodded. “My hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, and my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear their loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal… Unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath.”

“Oath… To be like you, right?” I asked. “Eternal maiden and give up on love, that kind of oath?”

Artemis nodded.

“What about Nico?” I asked. “Nico is male. He cannot be a hunter.”

“Certainly not,” Artemis agreed. “He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that is the best boys can do.”

I frowned, eyes narrowing. There was no doubt in my mind, Artemis was a goddess that couldn’t be trusted. If she was so willing to separate a brother and sister, then there was no doubt in my mind that I couldn’t trust her.

You should never force a family apart.

“It doesn’t matter, because I’ve already made my choice,” Bianca said. “I am not going to be a hunter.”

Artemis blinked in surprise, and Zoe looked shocked. “But why?” Zoe asked. “Why would you not want to serve my lady?”

“It sounds exciting, don’t get me wrong,” Bianca said. “I was really leaning towards it. But… Percy is right. Nico is my brother. Oh sure, he’s hyperactive, nosy, and a pain in the ass. But he is _my_ pain in the ass. Plus…” She looked at Artemis apologetically. “After hearing that story about Kallisto… Sorry, I’m not interested. What would happen if Zeus turned his eyes on me, or I did something to offend him? Would you turn a blind eye then as well?”

Artemis opened her mouth to respond… But hesitated. And that hesitation was all Bianca needed.

“Exactly my point,” Bianca said. “I really appreciate the offer, living forever sounds nice but… I have a brother, I have my whole life ahead of me. You recruit maidens, but I’m already grown up,” she tapped the side of her head. “Up here, I’m already an adult. This lifestyle isn’t for me.”

Zoe looked shocked at Bianca’s well-thought-out argument, seeming to want to object, but Artemis raised a hand.

“If that is your wish, then I shall not do anything to discourage you from it,” she said. “You have chosen your path, and nothing I say now shall sway you from it. I can only wish you luck on the path you have chosen.”

“Thank you,” Bianca bowed her head before she slowly stood up.

“Dawn is approaching,” Artemis said as she closed her eyes. “Zoe, break camp. You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother.”

I stood up as I heard Zoe groan in annoyance, and Bianca made her way back over to my side. Zoe gave me one last glare before stalking out of the tent.

“May we go?” I asked. “We do need to collect our things from your hunters.”

Artemis nodded, turning away from the both of us. “Yes, you may go.”

**~~Gaming Alone~~**

We were assured by Artemis dawn was getting close, and it was hard to believe her. But the time on the System was never wrong, and I saw it was getting close to the time the sun rose. Up on the hill, Westover Hall had all the lights shut off and was lifeless. I’d have to apologise to my mom for vanishing, I hoped she forgave me for it.

Bianca and I were handed suitcases filled with our things by some hunters, Bianca was also handed Nico’s suitcase which she promptly handed to her little brother as soon as possible. I also took Nico’s cards out of my inventory and slipped them into the suitcase, so he’d just think the hunters collected them.

“Why don’t you two talk?” I told the siblings. “Bianca, tell Nico what Artemis offered you, and what your choice was,” I said. “You may have rejected the offer, but he still deserves to know.”

Bianca hesitated but nodded. She probably thought it best to not tell him, but I thought otherwise. It would only strengthen the bond between the two of them, it would make them even closer. A strong family bond was very important.

Thalia, Annabeth, and Grover approached me after I sent Nico and Bianca a little way away to talk. “So, what did you talk about?” Annabeth asked.

“A bit nosy, isn’t it?” I asked. “I only met you a few hours ago. Is there a reason I should tell you?”

“Annie, boundaries,” Thalia chastised before turning back to me. “Sorry about her. She’s Athena’s kid, so she’s a bit nosy.”

“Athena?” I blinked. “As in, the Maiden Goddess? How did-?”

“It’s a long story,” Thalia said, and I saw Annabeth seemed a bit annoyed. “To put it short, you know the myth how she was born from Zeus’ head? She basically mixes the thoughts of intelligent guys she meets with her own and creates her kids from her head too.”

“… So, do her kids have belly buttons?”

“Of course, we have belly buttons,” Annabeth squeaked, her cheeks red… From embarrassment or anger, I couldn’t quite tell.

“Okay,” I shrugged and looked at them. “… Look, Artemis and I didn’t talk about much. She just asked if the manticore told me anything, and then asked Bianca to join the hunt.”

“What?” Thalia exclaimed. “She said no, right? Please tell me she said no!”

I tilted my head. “Well, someone has a grudge. Yeah, she said no. She was leaning towards it and might have joined, but I mentioned Nico and that seemed to have swayed her. Sisterly responsibility trumped immortality…” I shook my head. “Honestly, who the hell wants immortality?”

“Hades,” Annabeth corrected. That was going to get annoying really quick. “Why wouldn’t you want immortality?”

“Are you kidding me?” I asked incredulously. “Living forever sounds nice, but it’s not that simple. You’d have to fake your death and re-create your identity over, and over, and over again. Money would become an issue since it would be weird if you appeared with a shit tonne of money someday, so you’d need some kind of stable job every single time you re-created your identity. Then, on top of all of that, is seeing everyone you know, and love, die around you. Doesn’t matter if they die from monster attacks or old age. Fact of the matter is, you see the people you love die while you have to keep living on.”

Annabeth fell silent at that… I guessed she’d never thought about the consequences of being immortal, only the benefits.

With the System, I’d wondered if it could give me immortality. The thought sent my spine crawling once I really wondered about the ramifications of such a choice.

“You really thought about it, huh?” Thalia asked me.

“A lot,” I said. “Immortality, to me, doesn’t sound like it’s a blessing. Sounds more like a curse to my ears. Artemis is one of the smarter gods, even if I don’t like her that much. She gathered the Hunters and made her immortal, so she doesn’t go crazy from lack of companionship. Probably the reason the other gods sleep around so much.”

There was silence for a while, and then Thalia spoke up. “… That makes a bit too much sense…” She admitted. “But then why do the gods that are married cheat?”

“All those marriages are fucking terrible!” I told her. “Zeus is just too horny and cheats on Hera without a care and considering the fact she probably condemns him to the couch whenever he cheats, thus depriving him of sex, he goes and cheats more!” Thunder boomed overhead, but I ignored it. “Hephaestus would be loyal to Aphrodite, but she preferred the ‘bad boy’ in the war god then the sensible ‘work hard all the time’ Hephaestus. It’s like she chose some punk who drinks a lot and punches people, to the steady businessman who works hard for the family.”

“… That sounds scarily accurate to how we know Ares’ kids,” Annabeth murmured.

“It’s just guesses based on the myths for the most part,” I explained. “Hades actually gets a bad rep honestly, considering in myths he actually did nothing wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Thalia tilted her head in confusion. “What about Persephone?”

“That was during a time where ‘kidnapping’ was pretty much synonymous with the word ‘marriage,’” I told her. “Women got kidnapped and married all the time, it was probably not really frowned upon back then. And honestly, their relationship was surprisingly functional in the myths.”

Annabeth frowned. “What about Asclepius?”

I rolled my eyes lightly. “All Hades did was ask Zeus to have Asclepius stop bringing the dead back to life. It’s not _his_ fault Zeus interoperated that as ‘kill him.’ He helped Orpheus reunite with his dead wife, and all he said was ‘don’t look back until you leave.’ It’s not his fault Orpheus decided to ignore him.”

“… I’m suddenly thinking Hades isn’t such a bad guy,” Thalia murmured. “But, hey! He sent monsters after me to kill me! What about that!?”

“I’m sorry, but that’s on Zeus,” I told her. “Zeus forced him into an oath to not have any more demigod kids, despite the fact he honestly didn’t have that many kids to begin with. And then Zeus broke the oath anyway! So obviously, it’s completely understandable that Hades would be a _little_ pissed off about it.”

“Why does nobody mention any of this then?” Annabeth sounded confused. “I mean, in the myths Hades…” She trailed off.

“Did nothing wrong,” I finished for her. “Besides the kidnapping Persephone thing, he did nothing wrong. Plus, their marriage is surprisingly functional, like I said, and she certainly didn’t whine about it too much in the myths. The only two people Hades punished in the myths totally deserved it!”

“… Okay, this I have to hear,” Thalia said. “We have some time until dawn, tell us.”

I saw Grover and Annabeth leaning in to listen to.

“Alright, fine,” I said. “Keep in mind this is just from reading about myths, and I don’t have any way of confirming this is the way events actually went down. The only people who know for sure how things went are the people involved…” I took a deep breath and began to explain the story of Theseus and Pirithous.

Theseus and Pirithous were brothers. Theseus was famous for killing the Minotaur, and then abandoning his wife and forgetting to change the sails, which ultimately resulted in his father’s death. Less people had read the story of the horrible thing they both did after that.

The brothers decided they both wanted to marry children of Zeus, deserved to marry them even. Theseus settled on Helen of Troy, who I stressed to the listeners was _twelve_ at the time and kidnapped her. Obviously, Theseus couldn’t marry a twelve-year-old, so they decided to keep her until she was of legal marrying age.

“You can’t be serious…” Annabeth’s jaw dropped in shock as she heard that.

“Trust me, it gets worse…”

As disgusting as that was, Pirithous decided to set his sights higher. He wanted to marry Persephone, who was down in the Underworld with Hades. And, shockingly, Theseus also decided it was a great idea for them to go and kidnap Persephone.

“I… I’m sorry, they thought this was a _good_ idea?” Grover bleated. “Who thought pissing off Hades was a good idea!?”

“Them, apparently,” I said. “And again, keep in mind Hades didn’t do anything wrong in the myths. He governed the underworld, kept his promises, and was a loving husband. Fun fact, Cerberus actually means ‘Spotted.’ So, he named his three-headed hellhound ‘Spot.’”

“… That is adorable,” Thalia whispered to Annabeth, who nodded.

I coughed and continued. I told them how the two brothers went to the underworld, where they met with a _slightly_ pissed off Hades, who obviously knew of their plans. And, like any good host, he offered them seats at his dinner table. They, thinking he doesn’t know, sit down. And when they do, snakes erupt from the ground and fuse them to their chairs. Hades then sent the furies on them and left them to their torment.

“… Sounds reasonable,” Thalia agreed. “If I was in his position, I’d probably do the same… Wait, what happens to Helen?”

“Oh, she gets rescued,” I told her. “Don’t quite remember how, but she does.

“Wait, but Theseus is still alive in later myths,” Annabeth said. “How do you explain that?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” I said. “When Hercules went down for one of his twelve labours, he found the brothers. He freed Theseus but, as he was about to free Pirithous, Hades showed up and made it clear that Pirithous wasn’t going anywhere. And, wanting to avoid the wrath of the Underworld God, Hercules decided it was better to leave with just Theseus than not leave at all.”

All three of them stared at me. “… So, he’s still down there?” Thalia asked.

“Hell… Or, err, Hades if I know. Probably,” I shrugged. “Had a lot of fun reading about that myth.”

“Probably hurt your head with the dyslexia though,” Thalia said.

“I don’t have dyslexia.”

There was a pause. Then Thalia, Annabeth, and Grover all stared at me in shock. “What!?”

“Yeah, I don’t have dyslexia,” I responded.

“B- But how!?” Grover exclaimed. “You had dyslexia back at Yancy?”

“The mage healed me of that,” I told Grover. “Since finding out I was a demigod, I can now read Greek, which is what I assume caused the dyslexia, but I don’t have any problems or headaches reading English. Made my classes way easier.”

“That’s not fair!” Thalia said. “I wanna meet this mage and get my dyslexia cured!”

“Probably not gonna happen,” I said a bit un-sympathetically. Thalia pouted and turned away. Annabeth just stared at me with jealousy… Daughter of Athena with dyslexia, probably upset she can’t read all the books she wants without a headache.

The sky began to lighten, and I turned around to face the edge of the cliff. I heard Artemis mutter something about someone being lazy during the winter.

“We’re waiting for sunrise?” I asked her.

“For my brother, yes,” she nodded. “He’ll be taking you all back to camp.”

I blinked, then shook my head. This was probably some part of the myth that differed from reality. I wasn’t going to question how the sun was a star in the middle of our solar system, and yet Apollo was somehow driving the sun across the sky.

There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon, and a blast of warmth.

“Don’t look,” Artemis told us. “Not until he parks.”

 _‘… He’s actually driving the sun…’_ I thought, before averting my eyes. I saw everyone else was doing the same thing, and I felt the light and warmth intensifying. It reached the point my hellhound fur coat actually felt like it might melt off of me.

Then the light died.

I looked, and my eyes widened in shock at the car. It was my dream car, one I’d always wanted. A red convertible Maserati Spyder… Well, not _exactly_ the one I wanted. I wanted mine to be blue.

This one was different though, I could feel it. It was glowing with heat, and the snow had melted around the car in a perfect circle… Though that explained why I was standing on damp grass and my shoes were wet.

The driver got out, smiling. I didn’t notice that he looked only a few years older than me at first. Nor did I notice the sandy hair and his good looks, or even the casual clothing he was clad in.

My eyes were drawn to the name above his head.

**[God of the Sun – Apollo]**

The name was a solid black in colour again. Just like Artemis’s name, it was completely black.

That was just an indicator on how powerful the gods were. The darker an enemies name, the stronger they were. These were the first two people I’d met with black names above their heads, and it was a little intimidating.

And I could also feel it thanks to my sense stat. The power contained within Apollo. Like a blazing warmth, a raging inferno, begging to be unleashed. To be fired upon any that incited his wrath.

“Wow…” Thalia whispered. “Apollo is so hot.”

“Wanna see if I can put in a good word for you?” I snarked at her.

“Oh, shut up.”

I ignored Apollo and Artemis’s little banter, and instead moved to stand with Nico and Bianca again. “You all done with your talking?”

“Yeah,” Bianca nodded. “We’re all done.”

“Thank you,” Nico said to me, with a look so sincere it shocked me. I was surprised with just how sincere that look was.

“For what?”

“I know you had something to do with why Bianca stayed,” he said. “So, thank you. Thank you so much for making sure I didn’t lose my sister. I don’t know what I’d do with myself without her.”

“Nico…” Bianca whispered, clearly touched. She didn’t seem to realise just how much she meant to Nico.

“Any time, Nico,” I smiled at him, ruffling his hair.

I turned back to everyone, only to see Apollo grinning, bowing at them as if he’d done something amazing. “… Uh, what did I miss?” I asked Grover.

“Don’t ask,” he responded.

“And now, sis,” Apollo spoke up. “Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll.”

“The demigods also need a ride,” Artemis said, pointing at us. “Some of Chiron’s campers, and new recruits to the camp.”

"No problem!" Apollo checked us out. "Let's see… Thalia, right? I've heard all about you."

Thalia blushed. "Hi, Lord Apollo."

"Zeus's girl, yes? Makes you my half-sister. Used to be a tree, didn't you? Glad you're back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees. Man, I remember one time-!”

“Brother, you should get going,” Artemis interjected.

“… You got turned into a tree?” I asked Thalia.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said, blushing in embarrassment.

“Right, right,” Apollo answered his sister… Then his eyes landed on me and he froze up. “… Who are you?”

I blinked. “Err… Percy. Percy Jackson.”

He stared at me intently, like I was a puzzle piece to figure out. Like he’d had a perfect image figured out, but I was a piece that just wouldn’t fit.

“Brother,” Artemis said. “Is there a problem?”

“… No,” Apollo shook his head. “Nothing at all. We should load up. The ride only goes one way – west. And if you miss it, you miss it.”

I looked at the Maserati. “… It’s only two seats, how will we all get in?” I couldn’t help but ask.

"Oh." Apollo seemed to notice the problem for the first time. "Well, yeah. I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose…"

He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button. For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. And when the glare died, the car was replaced by a turtle top school shuttle bus.

“Right, everybody in,” Apollo told us.

I didn’t need to be asked twice, loading mine, Nico’s, and Bianca’s stuff on before climbing in and finding a seat. I sat next to Nico, and Bianca sat right across from us with Thalia, and Grover and Annabeth sat together behind them. The hunters all sat right at the back, crammed together. Probably to stay away from all the ‘icky males.’

“Can I sit in the driver’s seat?” Nico asked.

“No,” Bianca responded. “You can sit in the driver’s seat when you’re old enough to drive. Not before, not after.”

Nico pouted, but begrudgingly accepted it.

“So?” Apollo dangled the keys. “Who wants to drive?”

“Oo, oo!” Grover raised his arm like an eager kid in school who knew the answer.

“Mm, no,” Apollo said. “Too furry…”

 _‘… He… He knows what furry means, right…?’_ I only knew what it meant do to clicking a risky link by accident when it popped right as I was clicking on something else.

Mistakes were made.

“Daughter of Zeus!” I heard Apollo exclaim. “Lord of the sky. Perfect.”

“Um, Lord Apollo?” Annabeth spoke up. “Err… With all due respect, I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“Hm? Why not?”

“Thalia… Um…” Annabeth looked uncomfortable and mouthed something to Apollo that I couldn’t quite see from my angle.

“Oh…” Apollo blinked. “How does…? No, never mind,” he shook his head. “Right then, I guess I’m driving,” he said as he slipped into the driver’s seat and slid the key in. The engine revved, and soon enough we were off.

The ride was smooth. Though there was one incident that happened not long after the ride started. Apollo suddenly swerved out the way as a lightning bolt crashed down right where we were. “What the Hades dad!?” Apollo yelled up. “Why are you aiming at my chariot!? I’ve got Artemis’ hunters on here, and your daughter!”

Thunder rumbled in the sky, and it sounded quite angry, before quieting down.

“Honestly, my old man,” he murmured. “You’d think I had a kid of Hades or Poseidon on board or something with how he’s stropping about!”

I did my best not to change my expression. How would I ever explain that two kids of Hades and a son of Poseidon were on the bus!? Zeus must be furious that we were in his domain… But all that cemented in my mind was that Zeus was a god I couldn’t trust either.

He’d been ready to kill all of us, just to get at me, Nico, and Bianca! There was no way someone like that was someone I could trust!

With Apollo at the wheel, the rest of the ride passed without incident and we safely touched down at Camp Half-Blood. I sighed in relief at finally making it to this stupid camp.

I wondered just what it would offer me in terms of getting stronger?

I climbed off the bus, Nico and Bianca following, and we unloaded our stuff. A bunch of people, I assumed they were demigods, came around to look at the commotion happening…

And then I heard gasps.

I looked around, wondering what was going on, but everyone was staring at me. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

“P- Percy…” Bianca said. “Something is floating above your head!”

I blinked and looked up, only to see a spinning green emblem of a trident.

**[You have been claimed by Poseidon.]**

**[The Unknown Active Skill Hydrokinesis has been unlocked.]**

I blinked in shock and looked down and around, only to see campers bowing to me. “Um… What?”

“It is determined…” Apollo said, staring at me as well. “Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Percy Jackson, Son of the Sea God.”

“… Can you all stop bowing!?” I exclaimed. “You’re making me feel super uncomfortable!”

**[Hydrokinesis Lv. 1]**

**[The ability to manipulate, shape and, in some instances, create water. A power inherited by being Poseidon’s child.]**

**[Cost: Varies depending on the action being performed.]**

**[Further MP will be consumed depending on actions performed when using this skill.]**

* * *

**Word Count: 6,190**

**Publish Date: 16th January 2020**


	9. IX: First Day

It didn't take long for the campers to rise after I told them to, though they still gave me looks that made me uncomfortable. Thalia was looking at me as if she'd just seen me for the first time, and Annabeth… Was half between shocked and a glare at me.

It didn't take long for me to figure it out and, when I did, I felt myself getting annoyed with her. Was she really glaring at me because our parents didn't get along? I didn't remember ever asking to be born to Poseidon, no more than she'd been asked to get born to Athena. Why the heck was she glaring at me when our parents were the ones who were holding the grudge?

I turned to Thalia. "You mind showing us around?" I asked. "Or if you have some kind of director for this camp, mind taking us to them or whatever?"

"Uh, sure," Thalia nodded as she snapped out of her stupor. "I'll take you to Chiron, he's the activities director."

"Well, since you all seem to be settling in, I'll be going," Apollo said, snapping his fingers as all the luggage that had been boarded onto the bus was suddenly off it. "You all have fun at camp now! I should go, I imagine I'll need to be at a council meeting soon!"

Apollo hopped into the chariot, as I turned away as a blast of heat filled the area. I didn't need to look to know he was riding away in the sports car again.

The hunters quickly began to leave, though Grover insisted on leading them. I wondered why he was acting like such a love-struck fool but chalked it up to either him being a satyr, or something the hunters did that attracted him.

"Chiron," I repeated as I grabbed my suitcase, Bianca grabbing hers as Nico did the same. "As in, the same Chiron from the myths? The trainer of heroes and all that? No offence, I thought he'd be long dead. Is there a reason he's still alive and kicking?" I didn't want to sound rude, but I was curious.

"Apparently the gods granted his wish a long time ago, made him immortal so he could keep training heroes for as long as he was needed," Thalia said as she began to lead us through the camp, Annabeth walking beside her. "And since he isn't dead, I guess he's still needed."

"Who's the Chiron from the myths?" Nico asked, looking at me.

"He's a centaur," I told you. "Half man, half horse. He trained a lot of great heroes… Can only think of Achilles off the top of my head, but he trained a lot more than just Achilles."

"Achilles… Isn't that the heel guy?"

I couldn't help but snort with amusement and heard Thalia snort from ahead of us. "Yes, Nico. The heel guy."

I glanced around the Camp as we walked. It was… Surprisingly empty. Aiz had described It as a haven for demigods, but it felt so empty. Like several people were missing from a picture and, without them, it didn't feel whole.

"Why all the different cabins?" I asked. "They have very distinct designs, similar to each god."

"You catch on quick," Thalia said. "You stay in a Cabin depending on your godly parent. There are twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians. If you're the child of a minor god, or are unclaimed by your parent, you stay in Cabin twelve, Hermes' cabin. He's the god of travelers, so he welcomes everyone," she jutted her thumb to Cabin twelve.

I looked over, before frowning. Just from glimpsing inside it looked so… Crowded. And Hermes was also the god of thieves, I wouldn't have Nico and Bianca staying in there if I could help it. "Any way I could have Nico and Bianca stay in my cabin?" I asked, making them both look at me with surprise. "They're my best friends. I don't want them staying in an overly crowded cabin, especially since it is home to the God of Thieves."

"I… Guess if they had special permission from your father, they could stay in it," she said. "Hermes welcomes all travelers, so everyone can stay in his cabin. If you can convince your dad to let them stay in your cabin, I don't see why they wouldn't be allowed to stay."

I nodded… Gods liked sacrifices, right? I opened my inventory to see if I had anything I could sacrifice to convince him… Would he appreciate a Minotaur's horn?

"We're here," Thalia said, and I closed my inventory to look at the building she'd led us to.

It was a farmhouse, was the best way to put it. Wasn't particularly anything special to look at, though it was decorated for Christmas. It had strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch, but nothing else caught on fire.

But there was more to it. I got a strange sense from inside the building. Something powerful, strong. Power on par with that of Apollo or Artemis.

A God was in the farmhouse.

Thalia led us inside, and I saw the two people sitting at the table.

The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, watery eyes, and curly hair that was so black it was almost purple. He was dressed in a leopard-skin warm-up suit with purple running shoes. A golden laurel wreath was on his head, tilted sideways on his hair.

He was also the god I'd sensed outside. Perhaps it was the black name above his head that gave it away.

**[God of Wine – Dionysus]**

Dionysus, the God of Wine. One of my favored gods in Greek Mythology, honestly. Dionysus, from what I recalled, didn't really do too many bad things. He did turn some people into dolphins, I recalled, but other than that he was a pretty decent guy. He'd rescued Ariadne from the island when Theseus ditched her and made her his immortal wife.

Why was he here, I wondered?

There was another man, sitting in a wheelchair, who turned to face us when we walked in. And the sight of him made my eyes widen.

"Mr. Brunner!?"

He looked surprised and narrowed his eyes lightly as he observed me. Then his own eyes widened in surprise. "Percy? This is a surprise… Grover only reported two demigods initially, but I see three new faces, why is this?"

"They were all together," Thalia explained, and then gave a quick summary of her experience at Westover Hall. "The girl is Bianca di Angelo, and the kid with her is her brother, Nico. And… Based on your reaction, you know Percy."

"Indeed, I do," Mr. Brunner nodded. "I made a house call for him over a year ago, at Grover's request. Speaking of, I'm sure Grover will be excited to receive his searcher's license at last now that he's escorted demigods to camp successfully."

"Mind explaining?" I raised an eye, cracking my neck slowly. I saw Bianca wince, and she hit my arm.

"Don't do that!" She exclaimed. "You know it makes me cringe every time you do!"

"I promise nothing," I smirked at her, making her huff and look away from me, before I shifted my gaze back to Mr. Brunner. "I'm going to take a wild guess your real name isn't Mr. Brunner… And considering what I was told before coming here… You're Chiron, aren't you? Trainer of heroes? And you…" I turned my gaze. "You're Dionysus, God of Wine."

"Oh…?" Dionysus lowered his cards to look at me. "You should be careful with names, young man. They have power… And how did you figure that?"

I hesitated. "… My mom was married to a really awful guy," I explained. "Drank all the time and found out he was hitting my mom too. He got arrested and charged, so I won't see him again, but I learned how to tell if someone has a particular… Desire towards alcohol. And I also felt it, your power. It's stronger than anyone else in the camp."

He raised an eye at me. "A sensor…? How peculiar? Not Hecate's child, since your mother is mortal… Who is your parent?"

"That's… Kind of why I brought him here," Thalia rubbed her neck. "He was claimed as soon as we arrived in Camp. He's…"

"Poseidon's," Annabeth spoke up, the first time I'd heard her speak since we arrived in the camp. "Poseidon broke the oath as well."

I saw Chiron pale lightly. "Oh… Oh dear… Are you quite sure?"

"Apollo said so when the trident symbol appeared over my head," I scratched the back of my head.

"Barnacle beard is your father, eh?" Dionysus asked. "No wonder father seemed so angry earlier… Did you enter his domain?"

"Apollo drove us here in his chariot," I confirmed. "He sent a lightning bolt right at us and Apollo had to swerve to save us."

Dionysus rolled his eyes. "Of _course,_ he did… Get annoyed at Poseidon for breaking the oath and you entering his domain, and yet Poseidon doesn't mind it whenever Miss Grace went for a swim during the Summer."

"I'm gonna refrain from commenting on that one," I said, since swimming meant picturing what she was wearing too. I was not gonna do that right now. "So… If uh, you don't mind me asking… Why are you at the camp?"

"My father banished me here," Dionysus explained, and I noticed looks of shock on Annabeth and Thalia's faces out the corner of my eyes. "I broke some rules, went after a nymph that was off limits, it happens. He banished me to this camp for one-hundred years."

"Does he at least let you see your wife?"

All sound ceased in the big house momentarily.

"Mr. D has a wife?" Thalia asked as she looked at me.

"Um… Yeah," I nodded. "After Theseus abandoned Ariadne when they docked, she was found by Dionysus. The legends go that he mended her broken heart, and then made her his immortal wife up on Olympus…"

"You do your research…" Dionysus, or Mr. D, said. I looked back to him, and he suddenly looked so much older… And so alone. "Excuse me Chiron, I've lost my mood for playing cards," he vanished into a purple mist before my eyes.

I stared at where he was, before my gaze shifted to Chiron. "… Zeus doesn't let him see his wife?"

Chiron shook his head sadly. "Sadly not… That was a vicious action on Zeus' part, to not even let Mr. D visit his wife. It is the main reason he is so dejected."

"Um… Is there any rule saying she can't stay at Camp while he's here?" I couldn't help but ask.

Once again, Chiron opened his mouth to answer, before closing it slowly and stroking his head. "Hm… I do not believe so… Perhaps…"

It was at that moment; the door was slammed open as Grover made his way in. "The Hunters are all moved in!"

Chiron looked at Grover and frowned. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about then…" He glanced to Nico, Bianca, and I. "Could you take our three new demigods to the den and show them our orientation film. Then we will speak about your searcher's license."

I saw Grover's eyes light up. "Yes sir! Right away!"

"Orientation film?" Bianca frowned. "Is it G or PG? I don't want Nico watching anything that he shouldn't be seeing, he's only ten."

"It's PG-13."

"Cool!" Nico cheered, and moved to follow Grover out of the room. Bianca shook her head in exasperation and followed behind, and I gave one last glance to everyone in the room and followed to go and watch the orientation film.

**~~Gaming Alone~~**

This orientation film was surprisingly good, and a great way to ease in demigods to Greek Myths being real. It explained everything simply, and even gave a basic introduction to the camp's layout, and the main people in charge. It really helped Bianca and Nico with better comprehending things.

Also, monsters regenerated if given time after they were killed.

That was good to know.

Nico practically charged back to the big house in excitement, forcing Bianca, Grover, and I to keep up with him. I managed to catch up easily thanks to my agility stat, grabbing him by his jacket and lifting him up. "Easy, Nico," I chided him. "Chiron isn't going anywhere."

"But he's a centaur!" Nico exclaimed with excitement. "How does he hide his lower half? I'm so curious!"

"Well, ask politely after _walking_ there," I told him. "You're probably already going to get scolded by Bianca for this later."

"A firm one," Bianca confirmed, slightly breathless, as she glared at her little brother.

Nico gulped and paled lightly as he heard that.

"There's the fear," I smirked at him. "Now, we will walk the rest of the way. Got it?"

"You got it," Nico agreed quickly.

I set him down, and Grover looked at me in surprise. "You're really different from back at Yancy, Percy," he told me. "You've really matured."

"Yeah well, it was bound to happen eventually," I shrugged as we continued out trek to the big house, opening the doors and making the three people remaining in the room look to us.

"Ah, perfect timing," Chiron said. "Thalia, could you show them around Camp please? And Annabeth, please inform the campers that we will have having capture the flag tomorrow night."

"Sure, Chiron," Annabeth nodded, before she glared at me and left the Big House.

"… Oh, my gods," I said after she left. "She's actually angry at me because our parents don't like each other. That's stupid. Completely, totally, _utterly_ stupid!"

"It's not entirely her fault," Thalia tried to defend her friend weakly, but I just gave her a flat look that made her laugh sheepishly and rub the back of her head. She clearly thought the same.

"As for you, Grover, we'll need to talk," Chiron smiled. "Some good news, as I'm sure you're aware…"

Thalia led us out before we could eavesdrop on Chiron and Grover's conversation, though I could tell Grover was excited for it based on how he was practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

I focused back on Thalia as I heard Nico grumbling about how he didn't get to ask where Chiron's horse half was. I looked around the camp, taking note of the cabin's shape they made. A U pattern, around a blazing hearth dead in the center.

It was rather pretty, but I noticed a girl sitting by the hearth. My eyes were immediately drawn to the name above her head. Pitch black.

**[Goddess of Hearth – Hestia]**

Hestia…? I confess to not knowing much about her. I knew she was the first-born child of Kronos and that she stepped down when Dionysus became a God, so he could sit on the council. But other than that, I didn't know anything about her.

What? So, I don't know everything, big whoop! I'm only a human! … Err, demigod! I'm not infallible, and I can make mistakes and not know everything!

"And this," Thalia's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, "is this Poseidon cabin."

I looked up at the cabin I'd be staying in. It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one, but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor.

I took a breath and slowly opened the door. I could taste salty sea air, making me feel like I was back on the beach at Montauk. The interior walls glowed like abalone. There were six empty bunk beds with silk sheets turned down.

It was almost like a trance when I stepped inside, running my fingers along the walls. It was a strange feeling to describe… Despite the fact my mom was back in Manhattan, being here… I felt like I was coming home for the first time in years.

I noticed something at the back of the cabin as well. A big basin of gray sea rock, with a spout like the head of a fish carved out of stone. Out of its mouth burst a stream of water, a saltwater spring that trickled into the pool. The water must have been hot, because it sent mist into the cold winter air like a sauna. It made the room feel warm and summery, fresh with the smell of the sea.

I glanced around the room again, before noticing a note on one of the beds. Curious, I picked it up and read it.

_I, Poseidon, give permission for Nico and Bianca di Angelo to stay in my cabin with my son, Perseus._

I gave a small smile as I read the note… I may still have a grudge against my dad for never being present in my life, even if I now knew that there were laws in place that prevented him from doing so, but I really appreciated this.

I set my suitcase down by a bed and left, showing the note to Thalia. "Nico, Bianca," I told them. "Go put your stuff in the cabin. You're staying with me.

"Really?" Nico's eyes lit up with excitement.

"What's that in your hand?" Bianca asked me, blinking in confusion.

"Written permission from my dad saying you can stay in my cabin with me," I said. "I'll hand it to Chiron… Or I'll hand it to Thalia who will hand it to Chiron, one or the other."

Thalia stared at the note, as if disbelieving of its existence. "He's letting them stay…?" She sounded shocked and… Was that a bit bitter?

That was when I came to realise… Zeus hadn't done much for Thalia, from what I'd seen. If my memory served right, I remembered Apollo mentioning something about Thalia. That she'd been turned into a tree. Had Zeus done it? Even willing to destroy the plane she was on, uncaring that she would die from the lightning strike just like I would.

Father of the year, Zeus was not.

"I guess so," I stuffed the note in my pocket… Though I was also curious about why Poseidon was letting Nico and Bianca stay in my cabin. I wasn't arrogant enough to think he was doing it just for me, to make me happy…

No, there was some other reason that I didn't know about. And I was going to find out, somehow.

Nico and Bianca set their suitcases in the cabin, before Thalia continued our tour.

I did have to admit, camp was very beautiful. And I wasn't asking as many questions as I thought I might end up asking, thanks to that orientation film. Answered more questions that I thought it would have and was overall helpful.

I noticed Annabeth was going around to all the cabins, no doubt telling everyone about capture the flag… I wondered how that worked? I imagined I'd found out soon, so there was no need to ponder it. If it involved fighting, I was all about it.

The rest of the tour was peaceful, right up until Thalia noticed an incident where the Hunters were shooting hoops at the basketball court. One kid was arguing with a hunter nearby, hand on his sword. And the hunter looked like she was ready to exchange her basketball for a bow and arrow at any second.

"I need to go break that up," Thalia told us. "Try to stay out of trouble… Oh, and make sure you hand the note to Chiron…" She turned to leave before pausing. "Ah, one last thing. The goblets at dinner are enchanted. Speak what you want, and it will be there, non-alcoholic. And make sure you get in line for the burnt offerings to the gods after filling your plates."

"Like, we burn part of our food?" Bianca questioned. "Why?"

"They like the smell, apparently," Thalia said. "I should really go break that fight up now. Stay out of trouble!" She waved and hurried over to break up the tight before it happened.

"She was cool," Nico said. "Apollo said she was Zeus's daughter, right? Do you think she has cool lightning powers? Or do you think she can fly?"

"Ask her later," I suggested to Nico, ruffling his hair. "We've had a tour of the camp, how about you the both of you head back to the cabin while I hand the note saying you can stay there to Chiron? Bianca is in charge."

"How come she gets to be in charge?" Nico complained.

"Because I don't want to be on the end of the tongue lashing she's already going to give you," I told him, and Nico paled at the reminder that he was due for one of those.

"That's a great idea," Bianca said with a sickly-sweet smile as she pinched Nico's ear, making him yelp. "Come along, dear brother. It's time we had a talk…"

The sound of Nico's yelping and whining for Bianca to let go of his ear was music to my own.

I turned and marched back in the direction of the big house. "Enlarge map," I said softly, watching as my map moved in front of me and enlarged, giving me a better view of Camp Half-Blood and its surrounding areas.

There were no dungeons nearby. Somewhat of a shame, but I wasn't going to complain. I couldn't have everything. If the System made things too easy, then it would get boring in a hurry.

"Man, I wish my mom could see this…" I chuckled… Before my eyes widened in realization.

My mom!

She was supposed to be picking me up from Westover in a few days, so we could be together for Christmas!

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!

 _'Calm down, Percy…'_ I thought to myself. _'I'll just need to ask Chiron if there's a phone or something I can use… The orientation film said demigods aren't supposed to use technology, that it sends out a signal flare that alerts monsters to our locations… But this is the camp, I should be safe, right?'_

My walk to the big house sped up a bit.

As it turns out, Chiron was very understanding and handed me a phone, saying he would need it back as soon as the call was done. I thanked him and ducked into a side room, quickly typing in my mom's number since I had it memorized.

_Burr… Burr… Burr- Click!_

"Hello?"

"Hey mom," I said, feeling relieved now that I could hear her voice again.

"Percy?" She questioned, sounding surprised. "Is that you? Why are you calling me, is something wrong?"

"No… Well, maybe, I'm…" I hesitated… "… Mom, do you know anything about a Summer Camp that my father wanted me to go to?" It would be the best way to breach the waters.

There was silence for a while. And then she answered, "You're at the Camp."

"Y… Yeah," I breathed out, that confirmed she knew about it. "A monster attacked Nico, Bianca, and I. I killed it, and some people and Grover showed up. Then some other stuff happened and… Now I'm at the camp."

"Good," she said quickly. "Good… I… I knew you'd have to go there some day… But I was selfish, trying to keep you as close to me as I possibly could."

"I'm glad you were selfish," I told her. "I've loved every minute of you, even if I didn't know I was in danger. I don't plan to stay at the camp forever, mom… I still plan to spend Christmas with you, and to start a new school since I'll probably get expelled from Westover for being gone…" I chuckled nervously.

She let out a sigh of exasperation, but I could tell she was smiling on the other side of the phone. "At least it saves me a drive to Westover, Long Island is much easier to get to… Promise me you'll stay alive. I know the life of a demigod isn't safe but promise me you'll do your best to stay alive."

"… I promise," I whispered. "I promise to do my best to stay alive… I… I love you mom."

"I love you too, Percy," she said sweetly. "Contact me through whatever means you can that don't involve electronics, I know that electronics and demigods don't mix."

"How do you-?"

"There's a reason I never let you answer the phone," she told me. "Goodbye Percy."

"Goodbye mom," I replied, and heard the line go dead…

I couldn't help but chuckle as I walked out and handed the phone back to Chiron. My mother really was a crafty woman.

Dinner that night was quite lovely. The burnt offerings were kind of weird, but I offered one to Poseidon, as did Bianca and Nico. Probably as thanks for letting them stay in the cabin with me, which I was still incredibly curious about.

I looked around at the tables, and I couldn't help but frown… The tables were set up in such a way that you sat with your cabin members, but I didn't like that. What if you had friends from other cabins and wanted to sit with them?

And what about Thalia? I saw she was sat all alone at the Zeus table and seemed to be miserable about it, mostly just poking at her foot with a fork rather than eating it. I couldn't imagine needing to eat all alone all the time, it sounded so dull and sad.

Honestly, the only table that seemed to be having a good time were the Hunters. They drank and ate and laughed like one big happy family. I even saw Zoe smiling from time to time while she sat at the head of the table.

Though that wasn't to say I didn't have a good time speaking with Nico and Bianca. We talked about a few things, our expectations of the camp, what kind of training we'd end up doing. Nico mentioned wanting to fight monsters, though Bianca said she wouldn't be fighting anything until she was sure they could both protect themselves and each other.

That was something I liked to see, and it was why I was distrustful of Artemis. I never had a brother or sister, but a family bond was something sacred, something precious to me. To try and break it up by inviting Bianca to the hunt was just cruel in my eyes.

After we'd eaten, Mr. D announced mine, Bianca, and Nico's arrival… Though he butchered our names and only said them right when corrected by Chiron. I also saw him cast me a curious look, as if he didn't really know what he should make of me.

Chiron made a toast to the gods once Dionysus sat down, and formally welcomed the Hunters of Artemis. The clapping that followed was the most half-hearted thing I'd ever heard. Though when he announced the 'good-will' capture the flag, that got a much better response.

We all trailed back to our cabins after that, and the exhaustion of the day showed in Bianca and Nico as we got to the Poseidon Cabin. They both wished me goodnight, and I heard the quiet breathing that showed they were asleep not long after. It made me chuckle and smile as I lay down in my bed, staring at the ceiling above.

I wondered what Camp would bring myself. Would it make me stronger? Would I start to level up a bit? What did capture the flag have in store for me?

I confess, I didn't feel like I was going to sleep… When suddenly my inventory popped up, and I saw something in it flashing red. Curious, I pulled out the card Aiz had given me the first time we'd spoken. The black card she said was used to contact her was now warming up in my hands, the word 'Tribus' flashing on it in red occasionally.

Suddenly, I felt a chill rush through my spine… Was it possible…?

I shakily whispered the card up to my ear. "Tribus…" I whispered softly.

There was silence for a moment…

… And then a voice I didn't think I would be hearing again so soon. "Hello, Percy."

"… Hello, Aiz."

* * *

**Word Count: 4,749**

**Publish Date: 19th January 2020**


	10. X: A Prophecy

How long had it been since I’d last spoken to Aiz, I wondered? If my memory wasn’t wrong, I hadn’t spoken to her since her warning to me about Grover coming to Westover Hall. After that I hadn’t spoken so much as a single word to her… Hell, I don’t think I’d even really seen her around that much, if I was honest.

So why was she calling me now?

“You’re not in the school,” Aiz said. “You vanished… You’re at Camp Half-Blood, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I am,” I confirmed. “Dr Thorn made his move. I erased him, and then stuff happened and now I’m in Camp Half-Blood.”

“I see…” She said, silence reigning between us for a minute or so before she spoke up again. “So, you’ve made your choice then,” she said to him.

“I’m sorry, can you blame me?” I snorted at her. “’I’m part of a shady organization. I can’t tell you who our leader is, or what the goal of our organization overall is because I swore an oath to not say his name, and I don’t know our goal, but I fully expect that you’ll join us.’ Yeah, there was no way in Hades I was joining.”

She was frowning on the other side of the phone, I could feel it. “You mentioned that the last time we spoke, and I was thinking about it… When I contacted the higher ups and asked the questions you asked, they only told me not to worry about it… And yet I am concerned about my organization. Little things I didn’t notice before in my memory are now standing out…”

I closed my eyes. Blind loyalty, that was what Aiz had been blinded with. I could see that now. And now that I’d asked the right questions, she was asking questions that were beginning to get rid of her loyalty.

“Why did you really call me?” I asked. “I know you didn’t call me to just discuss this.”

“You’re right, I didn’t call you to discuss this,” she said to me. “I have information I thought you’d want to know, since you’re at Camp Half Blood now…”

“And that is?”

“The Titans are starting to more thoroughly make their moves, coming out into the open. Before they’d been somewhat stealthy and quiet, trying to fly under the radar of the gods. But they’re starting to no longer care, making bolder moves than before. Be careful.”

I frowned lightly at her words… So, the Titans were starting to make this an open war, not a shadow war like it had been until now from what I’d heard. But one question stood out in my mind, “How do you know all this?”

“We have someone on the inside,” she told me, and my eyes widened. Tribus had a double agent. But wait… She knew I was at Camp, but I could have just left. How did she-? “And before you ask, yes. We also have a double agent at Camp Half-Blood too. Though you’ll never find them, so I wouldn’t bother looking.”

“… Alright then,” I said. “I’m going to go now, Aiz. But I’ll give you some advice. Your organization is shady, too shady to be trusted in my opinion. I think that it’s time you asked yourself just what their goals are, and if they can really be trusted. I’m going to destroy this card, can’t risk it having a tracking function.”

“… Be careful,” was all Aiz said.

There was silence.

True to my word, I ripped up the black card into several pieces, before tossing them outside and letting them scatter to the winds.

I took a seat on my bed, thinking over just what I’d heard. A shadow war, starting to move into the open. The titans on one side, the gods on the other… And behind the scenes, a shady organization claiming to mostly be comprised of Zeus and Hades’ kids, with kids of others…

“There’s something going on,” I murmured to myself. “This Tribus group… I somehow feel they’re the key to all this. But the real question is should I open that door?”

I shook my head. “I won’t get anywhere right now, for now I should get some sleep…” Ever since I obtained the System, I no longer needed to eat or sleep… And after my talk with Aiz, I didn’t particularly want to sleep.

I stood up, pacing back and forth quietly to not wake up Nico or Bianca. “… Store,” I said aloud, letting it open in front of me.

I scrolled through various options, until I eventually came to a clothing store. It was dirt cheap too, only around ten gold for most items. Though that was because they had no enchantments on them, meaning they were purely cosmetic.

I probably spent an hour or so looking through different clothing options for outfits and buying clothing.

What? Just because I was a guy, didn’t mean I didn’t want to look good!

While I was here, I had some questions for the System… Questions I should have asked a long time ago, but better late than never.

“Query. Can other people interact with the system?”

**[No being besides the creator of the System and the Player can comprehend or interact with the System.]**

“So, I don’t need to be afraid of using the system in public… No wait, it said it can’t comprehend the system… Query. What happens if I take something out of my inventory in front of others?”

**[Humans will act as if you always had the item in question stored somewhere. Non/Demi-Humans shall believe the player used Dimensional Magic to store the items.]**

“I see…” I put a hand on my chin. “So just because people can’t interact with the System, doesn’t mean they don’t notice it. Instead, they rationalize it in a way that makes sense for them. Because non and demi-humans are aware of the existence of magic, they explain it as magic. And because humans don’t know magic, the only explanation their minds have is that I had the item the whole time… That will be useful. Query. Is there a party system?”

**[The System does not have a party option. Only the chosen player and the creator may access and use the System.]**

“Chosen player… Me… But creator…” I frowned. “Query. Who created the system?”

**[The Player is not allowed access to that information at this time.]**

“Damn it…” I grit my teeth. I had this amazing power, yes, but how did I know the creator would not take the system from me for whatever reason… “Query. Can the System be taken from me by the creator?”

**[Once the Player has obtained access to the System, they can never lose access, even after their death.]**

My eyes widened at that. The System would be with me forever, even after I died? That was interesting… That was very interesting…

“Query. Are Gods able to sense the System?”

**[Divine entities can sense something from the Player due to the System. For the sake of protecting the Player, divine entities shall feel a sense they can trust the player to prevent their death.]**

“So that’s why Artemis thought I could be trusted…” I murmured. “And its why Mr. D was able to talk to me so easily, I heard that he’s usually kind of a prick. The System made them trust me more easily, to prevent me from dying at their hands… It explains why Artemis didn’t vaporize me when I brought up Kallisto…”

Yes, aggravating Artemis was not the smartest move on my part. But mentioning her had convinced Bianca to not join the Hunters, so it was a gamble that was worth it in my eyes.

I closed the Help Menu and looked out the window towards the forest. That must be where Capture the Flag would take place, otherwise the cabins would end up completely ruined, and would take forever to clean up afterwards. The forest was probably the smartest place to have capture the flag.

Suddenly, a thought occurred… We’d be fighting in the forest, so why didn’t I scout out the area? I didn’t know what the layout of the forest was, shortcuts through areas, nothing. If I could defeat the Hunters, that would get me some positive reputation in Camp seeing as people seemed to hate the Hunters.

I couldn’t help the grin that came to my lips.

Call me a little manipulative, but Tribus was a looming threat in my mind. If I could get the Camp on my side, then I’d be easily able to convince them that Tribus was an organization not to be trusted when they revealed themselves.

I thought it was acceptable, since I wasn’t going to manipulate them into doing something evil. Tribus was too shady to be trusted, and I thought it was best that they were dealt with as soon as they decided to come out of hiding. Because they would. Shady organizations that kept themselves hidden always came out of the shadows eventually.

And during a war was the best time to make themselves known and try to push forward whatever the hell their agenda was.

For now, though…

**[Skill: Stealth has activated.]**

**[All traces of the Player shall be hidden.]**

**[10 MP will be consumed every second.]**

I had harpies to avoid and a forest to scout out.

**~~Gaming Alone~~**

When I was told the forest was stocked, I was hoping there would be monsters in there. You know, some free experience I could gain while I scouted out the place.

Of course, there wouldn’t be monsters in there, what was I thinking? The camp was protected by a magical barrier, it would be completely stupid if the monsters could come in through the forest to attack the campers! Of course, there were no monsters in the damn forest!

Still, scouting out the forest was complete child’s play. Throughout my time at Westover Hall, I’d gone into the dungeon there regularly. Just for fun, I spent a long time figuring out different ways to travel through the forest; be it from tree to tree, swinging from vine to vine… I could go on, but long story short is I know my way around forests like I know the back of my hand.

… Was that spot always on my hand?

Regardless, scouting out the forest was all too easy. The map in my vision also helped a great deal. Oh, those Hunters wouldn’t know what hit them in this game of capture the flag! I was certain of that!

I made my way out of the forest at about five in the morning and proceeded to do my Daily Quest without issue. It was only after, that I used my Stealth skill again and snuck back into the cabin. I rustled the bed a little to make it look like I’d slept in it- no need to make Nico or Bianca worry- and then sat on the bed and disabled my stealth skill.

When that was done, I began to contemplate about the in-game currency. It was all good and helpful, but I was curious as to if I could use it in the real world.

Well… There was one way to find out.

“Query. Can I convert in-game currency into real world currency?”

**[Answer: Yes. To convert currency, please open the store, then say ‘Convert Gold.’]**

“Nice and easy,” I murmured, closing the helpful box and opening the Store menu. I looked at my gold, sitting at just over one-hundred thousand. Time to hope the conversion rates were good. “Convert Gold.”

**[What would you like to convert your gold into?]**

“US Dollars.”

**[1 Gold = 50 USD. How much gold would you like to convert?]**

“WHAT-!?” I had to quickly bring my hands up, staring at the floating blue text box in shock. One gold was equal to fifty dollars!? If I had over one-hundred thousand, then that meant…

Holy shit, I was rich!

No, focus Percy! Focus on the fact you’re rich later, focus on other things now!

“Cancel,” I said, slowly uncovering my mouth. “Convert Gold to Gold Drachmas.”

**[1 Gold = 13 Gold Drachmas. How much would you like to convert?]**

Well, safe to say that I’d never have money troubles for as long as I lived, that much was certain!

Now, how to use this money…

“Cancel. Inventory,” I said, closing the conversion menu and opening up my inventory to have a quick look through it. Perhaps something in there could give me a hint of just what it was I wanted to do with my money…

My eyes landed upon my bronze xiphos I’d broken. I stared at it, considering… Hephaestus was the God of the Forge. His kids were here at Camp and had likely inherited some measure of his skill.

I’d have to speak with them, see if I could get my xiphos re-forged, or melted down to make something else. As lovely as the xiphos was to hold, it still felt… Off. Like it just wasn’t quite what I wanted in a weapon, like it could have been better if it was just something else.

I closed my inventory, laying back in my bed and simply stared at the ceiling for a while. Honestly, there wasn’t much for me to do right now. I’d scouted out the forest, done my daily quest, asked the system some questions… And make a short-term plan. I had literally nothing to do but stare at the ceiling and wait for breakfast.

… Fuck, I should really get a hobby.

Several hours later, after having gotten some breakfast in my stomach, I made my way over to the Hephaestus Cabin. I converted my gold into a thousand drachmas, just in case, and I was confident I could convert them back if that was way too much.

I gave a firm knock on the door, my broken xiphos in hand.

I didn’t have to wait long for the door to open, revealing a tall African-American man with what seemed to be a permanent scowl on his face. Guy was pretty jacked too, had muscles like you’d see on a basketball player. I could see the callouses on his hands too.

“You’re the new kid that came yesterday, the son of Poseidon,” he said, it wasn’t a question. “I never got your name.”

“Percy,” I introduced myself, offering my hand.

He met me half-way, shaking my hand firmly. He had a strong grip. “Charles Beckendorf, everyone calls me Beckendorf,” he said to me, pulling his hand back. “So, what did you want?”

“My xiphos broke a while ago in a monster attack,” I said as I held up the broken weapon, seeing him visibly cringe. “I’ve gotten better weapons since, but I wanted to see if I could get it repaired or improved in some way.”

“That thing is horrendous,” Beckendorf grimaced. “Not even worth using as scrap metal… Though I guess I can melt it down and see if we can make something salvageable…”

“I don’t want something salvageable,” my voice was firm “I want a weapon that will last me a long time, possibly forever, that I can use. I’m willing to pay however much I need to do so.”

“Mortal money doesn’t fly in camp,” Beckendorf said. “You need Gold Drachmas. Considering your new, I don’t see how-.”

He quickly feel silent as I reached into my inventory, pulling out a pouch and tossing it to him.

He caught it, eyes wide. “What… That was magic, right?” He asked. “But I’ve never seen anything like it… Your hand just rippled and vanished, and came out with the pouch… How did you…?”

“There’s one-hundred gold drachmas in there,” I told Beckendorf, and watched as he quickly opened it up. The sight of his wide eyes was great. “And I have more. I’m willing to give you three-hundred gold drachmas for making me a weapon to the absolute best of your abilities. It must be a one-handed sword, other than that… Surprise me.”

“… Give me another fifty drachmas,” Beckendorf said with a grin. “That way half on commission, half on payment.”

“I’ll add another hundred drachmas to the total if you can have it ready by tomorrow,” I bargained. “And I get the rights to name the weapon.”

“Deal.”

I tossed him another pouch from my inventory, containing another hundred drachmas, and my broken xiphos.

“Your weapon is gonna be a masterpiece,” Beckendorf promised me with a grin. “Not everyone can afford a Beckendorf original! I’ll make you a sword so great, it’ll become famous!”

“I’ll hold you to that,” I flashed him a grin, before I turned away and headed off to start my camp activities.

I very rapidly learned things about myself as I performed camp activities.

For starters, I wasn’t great at archery. Oh, I wasn’t completely terrible like I thought I would be. But I was barely hitting the targets with my shots. I had a good feeling that my agility stat was kind of like the dexterity stat in other games, in that it was helping with my aim.

Considering how high my agility was, I shuddered to thin how terrible I’d be at archery without all those points.

Climbing was easy, wrestling was a bit tough since I had to hold back my strength, so I didn’t accidentally hurt anybody. That would have been quite the dilemma. Still, the Ares camper I repeatedly knocked on his ass took it quite well. Even told me I was free to spar with members of the Ares cabin whenever I wanted.

I was a decent hand at sword-fighting too, managing to beat everyone I went up against. I heard whispers I might even be a better swordsman that ‘Luke.’ Whoever the hell Luke was.

I didn’t get to discover much else about myself regarding camp activities before the game of capture the flag. After all, there were only so many camp activities to do in a day. And besides, I was looking forward to the game of capture the flag.

It was set up after dinner, only a small game. Thirteen hunters, against a group of campers roughly the same size. Thalia was the leader, and personally chose every camper. A sense of doubt filled me as she began to choose everyone who would be on the camper’s side. I wanted in, if only to test myself, but what if she didn’t pick me?

She had no reason to, after all.

“We’ve got fourteen including me,” Thalia said. “We need one more…” That was when her eyes wandered, looking over everyone… And then landed on me. “You,” she said. “Percy.”

I blinked and stepped forwards. “Not that I’m gonna say no, but why me?” I asked, tilting my head in curiosity.

“You killed a manticore,” Thalia said. “Seems a good indicator you’d be a fair hand. Besides, you’re an unknown. An unknown will be good to use against them.”

“Fair enough,” I agreed. “What do you need from me, boss?”

Thalia looked at me weirdly as I called her that. “What are your skills?” She asked me.

I paused. “I’m fast,” I told her. “Fastest guy you’ll ever see that isn’t a god. I can also turn invisible, kind of like your friend Annabeth can do with her cap. Except I can do it at will, though mine is only temporary.”

“Wait, really?” Annabeth spoke up, having been one of the fifteen participating.

I just nodded. “I won’t demonstrate it right now though,” I told them. “Like I said, it’s temporary, and that’s only if I don’t use any other abilities when using it. At peak, I get just over a minute of invisibility.”

“So, you’re only good at running,” an Ares kid chuckled.

His chuckling stopped when he suddenly had a dagger to his neck. “I’ve killed the minotaur,” I told him. “And the manticore. And a handful of other monsters I don’t care to name. Never once did I run, facing them all head on. How many monsters have you fought?”

He didn’t respond.

“This dagger is made from the fang of Cerberus,” I told him. “In case you don’t get it, that means I faced Cerberus, killed it, and then made a dagger out of its tooth… Still think I’m only good at running?”

“… N- No.”

“No… What?”

“No, sir.”

I lowered my hand, the dagger vanishing in the same smooth movement. “I’m glad we understand each other,” I turned to look at Thalia and Annabeth. They, along with everyone around us, were visibly surprised. “So, what’s the plan, boss?”

Thalia quickly snapped out of it. “Only two people can guard the flag at a time,” she said. “Annabeth, and Ryan will guard the flag,” she said, nodding at the two. Ryan turned out to be the Ares kid he’d held his knife up to. “Brain and brawn, if you want me to blunt about my thought process. Everyone _except_ Percy is going to go for a full-frontal assault. Percy… You said a minute on your invisibility. And you said you’re fast? How fast?”

“You couldn’t see me pull out my dagger and hold it to Ryan’s neck,” I responded. “I think that gives you a hint.”

She nodded. “While we charge an assault, you are going to use your skills to get behind their lines,” she said. “If you’re as fast as you say, you should have no problems going around and avoiding them and grabbing their flag.”

“I’ll do my best,” I promised. “Though are you sure you want to trust me with such an important task?”

“None of us really have the skillset, besides Annabeth,” Thalia explained. “And I want her on defence. With her quick thinking, I’m sure she’d come up with something of the Hunters got near the flag.”

“That I can do,” I agreed readily. “Would you prefer I escape with the flag as undetected as possible?” I asked.

“If you can. If not, try and knock them out. If you’re as fast as you say, then there shouldn’t be an issue.”

I nodded, hiding my unease expertly. I’ve never needed to knock someone out. Take someone down, yes. Kill monsters, yes. But knock someone out? I’d have to be careful with my strength if it came to that, lest I really hurt the hunters. I may dislike them for their attitude, but I didn’t want to hurt them since I didn’t think they really deserved it. They were all basically raised by Artemis, after all. It was just in their nature.

“So basically,” I spoke up. “I succeed, I make good on my word and we’re cool. I fail, and I’m humiliated…” I grinned. “How very _Slytherin_ of you, Thalia.”

“Harry Potter? Really?”

“I’ve been told he and I have quite the uncanny resemblance,” I grinned. “Shaggy black hair, green eyes… And a small penchant of trouble finding us.”

“Shaggy black hair and green eyes I can see,” Thalia smirked. “Penchant for trouble… I don’t know you that well. Just do your job, and we’ll be golden, Jackson. I want to teach those girl scouts a lesson by running their ‘precious’ winning streak.”

“Call me Percy,” I told her. “That’s what everyone calls me, besides bullies and the like.”

“Percy it is,” she agreed. “Now, let’s all get prepared for this!”

Everyone began their preparations for the game. While others wore armor, I chose not to. When I was asked why, I just explained that my job was stealth. Heavy armor would not only hinder me, but also make noise that could get me detected.

Of course, my stealth skill would probably hide the noise. But I wasn’t going to tell them that!

“The boundary is past the creek,” Thalia said to me as we all got into position. “Don’t screw up.”

“That’s my line,” I smirked at her in turn, before I waited for the signal for the game to start.

I was travelling across the tree tops the instant the conch horn sounded. I took a slight route around, to avoid any hunters doing a frontal assault. It was child’s play, now that I knew my way around the forest thanks to my scouting. And the dark of night helped mask my movements further.

Still, I couldn’t underestimate them. They were trained personally by Artemis, after all. Who knows what tricks they’d picked up along the way?

For that reason, I stuck to the trees as I travelled. My superior speed practically made the forest a blur as I searched for where they could possibly be guarding the flag…

Then I came to a halt as I found them with the flag… I didn’t see it at first, and almost made my way past it, but I stopped as I spotted the flash of silver.

The sneaky shits had hidden it in a tree. And they knew someone would come based on if the trees rustled… But something was very strange. The leaves were rustling from my movement, but they didn’t seem to hear or notice. They seemed… Concerned about something.

“I wish this stupid game would end,” I heard one of them say, leaning a bit closer to listen. “Lady Artemis is in danger!”

I blinked at that, now fully focused on the conversation.

“Calm down,” the other spoke. “We know milady is in danger, but we can save her. As soon as this stupid game ends, we’ll pack up camp and leave in the morning to save milady.”

“I know,” the first said again. “I’m just worried. If someone could capture milady…”

“Then we’ll make them pay,” the second girl growled. “They’ll die for daring to kidnap milady. Damn those titans!”

Artemis was kidnapped by the titans, from what I was hearing… How interesting. It was probably overall bad, but it was interesting. Did the monster she was hunting lead her into a trap? Or did she kill the monster, but get ambushed after the fight?

Whatever the case, I didn’t have time to think about it.

I had a job to do.

**[Skill: Stealth has activated.]**

Without reservation, I jumped into the tree where they’d hidden their flag, snatched it, and then began to quickly tree hop towards the boundary. I felt a rush of air right after I jumped, meaning they fired arrows at me immediately.

Good reflexes, but I was a bit too fast for them.

I quickly began to jump from tree to tree, hearing one of them yell that the flag was missing as I jumped.

I disabled my Stealth after only ten seconds of hopping through the trees. If I got into the creek- or was it past the creek? - then we would win.

I honestly couldn’t help but feel disappointed as I saw the creek coming into sight in the distance, Hunters and campers fighting. I suppose I was just a bit too experienced in stuff like this, and the guards had been distracted because of the disappearance of their goddess.

Well, I would abuse the shit out of it. More rep would be helpful to me in the future.

I gave a mighty leap off the tree, soaring over the fighting Hunters and campers- spotting Zoe Nightshade pausing in her run with our flag in hand- and landing on the other side. Instantly, the flag turned from silver into an orange with a Pegasus on it.

Everyone turned to me, and I heard the conch horn blow loudly.

“Campers win!” Chiron declared, rushing out of the woods as two Hermes campers- twins- behind him. “For the first time in fifty-six games!”

“Sweet,” I grinned, as the campers cheered and rushed towards me. I yelped as I found myself mobbed, people clapping me on the back as they celebrated. I found myself face to face with Thalia.

“Looks like you weren’t all talk then,” she said, sounding smug… Because we’d won? She must really have a grudge against the hunters, just like I’d thought.

“Oh, I’m a little talk,” I disagreed with a smirk. “Just happen to have the skills to back it up.”

She laughed and pat me on the back. “Good job, seaweed brain.”

“Seaweed brain?”

“You’re Poseidon’s kid,” she said, as if that explained everything.

“Heh… Seaweed brain it is,” I snorted. I’d find a nickname for her later… But then I spotted movement in the woods and was completely distracted.

Thalia followed my gaze, no doubt curious.

Whatever was approaching us, it was shrouded in green mist… But as it got closer, I saw it.

It was a mummy. Not the wrapped-in-cloth kind either. A human female shrivelled up to a husk, wearing a tie-dyed sundress, lots of beaded necklaces, and a headband over her long black hair. The skin of her face was thin and leathery over her skull, and her eyes were glassy white slits, as if the real eyes had been replaced by marbles; she'd been dead a long, long time.

“This is impossible…” I heard Chiron say, sounding incredibly nervous. “It… She has never left the attic before.”

They kept a mummy in the attic; why?

She continued to walk forward, unperturbed, until she stood in the center of the group.

Nobody dared move. Then her voice hissed inside my head. Apparently, everyone else could hear it, because several clutched their hands over their ears.

_I am the spirit of Delphi,_ the voice said. _Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python._

It unmistakably looked at Zoe. She took that as a hint and stepped forwards. “What must I do to help my goddess?”

The spirit of Delphi, as it called itself, didn’t respond. Instead, it looked directly at me. Everyone quickly moved away from me, as if I might spontaneously combust. I felt a shudder as those cold, dead eyes regarded me. _Approach, speaker, and ask._

I saw the shock and… Was that hurt in Zoe’s eyes? It seemed she was quite hurt by the fact the spirit of Delphi rejected her question, and instead turned to me.

I hesitated and took a deep breath, before stepping forwards. “What is my destiny?”

The Spirit’s mouth opened, and green mist poured out. I paled as I saw my own face staring back at me, but the eyes were glowing bright green, holding my dagger and a bronze sword. The spirit spoke:

_With the arrival of the sun, the sea spawn is claimed._

_Five travel west to a goddess in chains,_

_Another to join as a gift from magic,_

_Warriors of bone to chase and cause havoc._

_The bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

_Campers and hunters combined prevail,_

_The Titan’s curse one must withstand,_

_A child to fall at their parent’s hand,_

_Stars are moved, the dead arise,_

_Endurance to perish along with the Skies._

Then, as we were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The spirit of Delphi sat down on a rock and became as still as a statue, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.

**[Unique Quest: The Goddess in Chains.]**

**[Clear Condition]**

**[(Incomplete) Save Artemis]**

**[(Incomplete) ???]**

**[(Incomplete) ???]**

**[Unique Quest Rules]**

**[You do not regain HP by sleeping, only MP and fatigue.]**

**[You do not receive Daily Quests while doing a Unique Quest.]**

**[WARNING! – The Player cannot reject this quest. Failure to comply with quest direction will result in the Player’s heart stopping.]**

My mouth dried further as I stared at the screen in front of my eyes, ignoring the way everyone else was looking at me in shock.

What the hell had the System gotten me into this time?

* * *

**Word Count: 5,303**

**Publish Date: January 31st 2020**


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